Patterns of Energy Consumption in Polish One-Person Households

Poland belongs to a group of countries with the highest share of expenditure on energy carriers in total household expenditure among the EU-28 countries. This fact adversely affects the quality of life of Polish citizens. One of the types of households which are most severely burdened with expenditure on energy carriers are households run by a single person. The scientific objective of the study was to identify the consumption patterns of energy carriers in Polish one-person households. The findings of the research were used to assess the correlation between the risk of energy poverty and particular socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the representatives of these households. Many statistical methods were used to achieve the research goal: analysis of variance, regression analysis, and cluster analysis. An aggregated index of energy comfort has been designed. Social factors, such as the level of education and the fact of holding non-manual positions, are strongly related to the level of expenditure on energy carriers and the degree of satisfaction of the needs related to the thermal comfort. The types of one-person households particularly vulnerable to energy poverty were individuals who had a number of different characteristics. The group included individuals who were unemployed, disabled, with low disposable income, with a low education level, living in the rural areas as well as elderly people. Polish one-person households can be divided into four groups according to the expenditure on energy carriers and meeting their needs related to thermal comfort.