Abstract
House heating consumes a significant quantity of fuel. But, the author argues. studies in this area have so far been unsatisfactory because they have lacked a sound basis in economic theory. Here the author develops a house heating fuel consumption model which incorporates fuel price, consumers' income and utility functions, and a heat production function which treats the house as a firm producing heat levels. The concept of an attainable heat function is introduced. This links heat levels with the amount consumers can spend on fuel and its omission has been a major failing of previous studies. The model is investigated empirically and hypotheses about fuel price, real incomes, temperature, and insulation are tested. © 1980.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 130-141 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Energy Economics |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 1980 |