Matthias Heinrich: Housing, residents and energy practices: Incorporating housing conditions into quantitative modelling of domestic energy consumption

This thesis adopts an interdisciplinary approach to develop a quantitative model of energy consumption based on ‘housing situations’ (household-dwelling relationships), domestic practices and residential contexts. It is divided into three parts.

Firstly, a review of the literature on the main models in engineering and the humanities helps to identify the theoretical frameworks for an approach that combines households and housing (‘housing situation’). In the second chapter, methods for modelling domestic practices are discussed, in order to determine which are most relevant for studying the links between housing situations and residential lifestyles. In the final, third chapter, drawing on a mixture model of logistic regression, a hierarchical model of domestic energy consumption based on housing situations is proposed.

Situated between typological and regression-based approaches, one of the contributions of this thesis is to propose, within a single methodology, both a typology of housing situations and a regression model. The estimation performance of the results is equivalent to that of the leading models; however, they offer greater explanatory power by linking domestic practices to energy consumption. This method also allows for the integration of a segmentation of domestic practices into a model of energy consumption at the household level. The thesis also has a heuristic dimension. It first demonstrates the links between housing situations and practices related to equipment, occupancy and regulatory actions. Furthermore, it presents ideal-typical housing situations identified on the basis of household characteristics, dwellings, behaviours and total domestic energy consumption, per person and per square metre. Finally, looking ahead, it paves the way for the development of further interdisciplinary approaches focusing on the transformation of housing situations.

Membership of the examination board:
Marjory Musy, Research Director, CEREMA, Rapporteur;
Fateh Belaïd, Researcher, KAPSARC, Rapporteur;
Faïcel Chamroukhi, University Professor, University of Caen, Examiner
Béatrice Roussillon, Senior Lecturer, University of Grenoble-Alpes, Examiner
Jean-Pierre Lévy, Research Director, CNRS, Thesis Supervisor
Latifa Oukhellou, Research Director, Gustave Eiffel University, Co-supervisor