Factors dominating peak electricity demand in Bangladeshi urban households: an assessment through the energy cultures framework

Abstract

ABSTRACT Residential electrical peak demand has attracted much attention as this demand is unpredictable. Several approaches have been used in the literature to analyze residential electrical demand. However, no previous studies have considered the energy cultures framework (ECF) to assess residential peak demand. This study investigates the applicability of ECF in accounting for residential demand variability. The ECF consists of three elements: material culture, cognitive norms, and energy practices. The ECF has been employed in a sample of 50 households in Bangladesh, of which 32% of households (HHs) were ‘peaky’ (peak time demand is much higher than average) and 68% HHs ‘non-peaky’ (average demand during peak hours). The analysis revealed that peaky HHs in Bangladesh is dominated by material culture. Non-peaky HHs’ demands are driven by cognitive norms. Spearman test results were found to be in line with ECF analysis.