Fundamental energy needs quantification across poor households through simulation model

Abstract

One of challenging goals of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is the poverty reduction. Lack of access to modern energy services brings about energy poverty, in which fundamental energy needs of human are not satisfied. Fundamental energy needs consist of energy for heating, cooling, cooking, and lighting. Time use analysis is conducted to measure the energy consumption in a typical household with 2 persons. Statistical distributions are fitted to the time use data belong to each daily activity in the household, except than space heating and cooling. Heating and cooling degree days are used to fit a sigmoid function for the space heating and cooling. Then, simulation model is utilized to generate random numbers and model time usage of activities in other families with 2 persons. Therefore, the weather data are used to adjust the time of space heating and cooling activities, while the variance of the fitted statistical distributions for the rest of activities is model the uncertainty of time usage from one family to another. The results of the simulation for one and half years at the families with 2 persons indicate that 18.3% (11.6 MJ), 39.2% (24.8 MJ), 23.6% (37.2 MJ), and 5.2% (3.3 MJ) of the energy are used for cooling, cooking, heating, and lighting, respectively. The results of the paper emphasizes the need of hybrid renewables to satisfy the lighting service because of its two peak times during day and night. Additionally, enegry required for heating and cooling imply that the current renewable energy technologies barely fulfill the both services at the household level. In case of electricity for example, both grid and off-grid require to reduce energy poverty.