A Review on Energy Consumption from a Socio-Economic Perspective: Reduction through Energy Efficiency and Beyond

Abstract: Reducing energy demand and increasing energy efficiency are seen as major elements of the ongoing transformation of energy systems in multiple national and international programs like the EU 20-20-20 targets. Despite the predominately socio-economic nature of energy demand such interdisciplinary viewpoints – albeit on the rise – are still the minority within energy related research. In this paper we provide a review on energy demand both from an economics and a social science perspective. In particular, we aim to identify potential fields for combined socio-economic research efforts oriented at three questions: ‘What drives energy demand?’, ‘Why do consumers behave the way they do?’ and finally ‘How can (end user) energy consumption be influenced?’