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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

ISSN 2095-2201

ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

CN 10-1013/X

Postal Subscription Code 80-973

2018 Impact Factor: 3.883

Front.Environ.Sci.Eng.    2014, Vol. 8 Issue (5) : 757-766    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-013-0603-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Cleaning the energy sources for water heating among Nanjing households: barriers and opportunities for solar and natural gas
Lingyun ZHU,Beibei LIU(),Jun BI()
School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, China
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Abstract

Energy for water heating accounts for an increasing part in residential energy demand in China. An extensive survey was conducted to analyze the determinants of household energy choices for water heaters among residents in Nanjing, China. Two sets of variables were examined as potential influences: building features and household socio-economic characteristics. Results suggest that building features such as gas availability and building structures, and household characteristics such as household head’s education degree and energy-conserving sense are crucial determinants in choosing natural gas as water heater energy. Installation permission for solar water heater, building stories, and residential location serve as determining factors in choosing solar water heaters. Based on these, barriers and opportunities are discussed for transitions toward cleaner water heating energies, and suggestions are given for local governments to promote cleaner energy replacement in China.

Keywords residential energy demand      water heating      multinomial logit model     
Corresponding Author(s): Beibei LIU   
Issue Date: 20 June 2014
 Cite this article:   
Beibei LIU,Jun BI,Lingyun ZHU. Cleaning the energy sources for water heating among Nanjing households: barriers and opportunities for solar and natural gas[J]. Front.Environ.Sci.Eng., 2014, 8(5): 757-766.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-013-0603-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2014/V8/I5/757
Fig.1  Distribution of households by bathing energy sources
characteristicsvariablesunit of account:modalities of variables
building characteristicsyear the residential house is built1: 2007 onwards; 0: before 2007
size of residencesquare meters
top floor or not1: top floor; 0: otherwise
building stories1:12 stories and below; 0: otherwise
house type1: flat; 0: others
if kitchen is adjacent to bathroom1: yes; 0: no
if solar water heater is allowed1: yes; 0: no
with gas pipeline1: yes; 0: no
dwelling status of the household1: owner; 0: otherwise
household characteristics
age of household headyears (quantitative)
size of householdnumber of household members
formal education level of household head
primary1: primary; 0: otherwise
secondary1: secondary; 0: otherwise
higher1: higher; 0: otherwise
household total incomehousehold total annual income (CNY)
with members over 60 years old1: yes; 0: no
with preschool children1: yes; 0: no
urban or suburban1: suburban 0: urban
Tab.1  Definition of exogenous variables of the multinomial logit model
characteristicsvariablesmeanS.D
building characteristicsyear the residential house is built199611.65
house type0.860.34
size of residence (square meters)92.4853.67
dwelling status of the household (owner)0.820.38
top floor or not0.150.36
building stories0.810.39
if kitchen is adjacent to the bathroom0.530.5
if solar water heater is allowed0.770.42
with gas pipeline0.690.46
household characteristicsage of household head44.9313.43
size of household3.31.12
primary education0.460.5
income (lower than 50 thousand CNY per year)0.340.47
with members over 60 years old0.320.47
with preschool children0.220.41
urban or suburban0.60.49
Tab.2  General statistics of building characteristics
natural gasLPGsolarsolar hybridothers
size of residence0.001 (0.003)-0.003(0.006)0.009(0.003)***0.005(0.004)0.006(0.005)
top floor or not0.161 (0.320)-0.440(0.550)0.376(0.301)0.838(0.385)**-0.106(0.672)
building stories-0.112 (0.260)0.089(0.846)1.664(0.564)***0.130(0.452)-0.104(0.481)
dwelling status of the household1.016(0.309)**0.349(0.458)0.553(0.293)*0.747(0.487)1.072(0.654)
if kitchen is adjacent to bathroom0.733(0.204)***0.656(0.368)*0.399(0.224)*0.237(0.303)0.567(0.388)
if solar water heater is allowed-0.260(0.232)1.641(0.649)**2.434(0.489)***3.194(1.030)***-0.892(0.407)**
with gas pipeline3.393(0.540)***-1.567(0.450)***-0.292(0.254)-0.022(0.371)0.936(0.565)*
bathing is arranged after 21:00-1.435(0.260)***-0.743(0.529)-1.456(0.334)***-0.422(0.343)-0.039(0.424)
age of household head0.014(0.010)0.044(0.017)***-0.002(0.010)0.041(0.014)***0.006(0.018)
formal education level: secondary0.628(0.242)***-0.373(0.450)-0.042(0.261)*0.748(0.356)**-0.263(0.451)
formal education level: higher0.191(0.412)0.237(1.142)-0.163(0.536)0.825(0.601)-0.227(0.766)
household total income: lower0.212(0.269)-0.282(0.429)0.459(0.279)-1.193(0.463)***-0.094(0.521)
household total income: higher0.158(0.235)-1.127(0.631)*-0.278(0.306)-0.067(0.339)**0.012(0.446)
with members over 60 years old-0.405(0.255)-0.837(0.475)*0.106(0.260)-0.732(0.392)-0.108(0.462)
with preschool children0.608(0.265)**0.901(0.436)**0.348(0.283)-0.056(0.420)0.279(0.482)
urban or suburban-0.329(0.231)-0.397(0.401)0.625(0.240)***0.340(0.340)-0.064(0.427)
χ2 (sig) 56 degree of freedom593.53(0.000)
McFadden pseudo-R20.2268
Tab.3  Estimation of the multinomial logit model for bathing fuel preferences in urban households
natural gasbottled LPGelectricitysolarsolar hybrid
size of residence-0.00021(-0.47)-0.00013(-0.9)-0.00105(-1.71)*0.001043(3.04)***0.000164(0.89)
upper floor or not0.004146(0.09)-0.01282(-1.3)-0.07055(-1.17)0.03794(0.97)0.051294(1.64)
building stories-0.05333(-1.28)-0.00162(-0.07)-0.08208(-1.41)0.150188(4.77)***-0.00114(-0.05)
dwelling Status of the household0.107278(3.17)***0.000764(0.07)-0.1872(-3.9)***0.031669(1.02)0.020933(1.05)
if kitchen is adjacent to bathroom0.090282(3.03)***0.010616(1.13)-0.13495(-3.46)***0.021263(0.81)-0.00092(-0.06)
if solar water heater is allowed-0.10839(-2.74)***0.02511(2.47)**-0.14306(-2.84)***0.1978(7.52)***0.096609(5.65)***
with gas pipeline0.378337(13.52)***-0.07738(-2.85)***-0.19598(-3.87)***-0.10132(-2.93)***-0.02207(-1.11)
bathing is arranged after 21:00-0.1447(-5.16)***-0.00766(-0.67)0.247492(5.89)***-0.11351(-4.25)***-0.00013(-0.01)
age of household head0.001426(1.01)0.001026(2.16)**-0.00327(-1.78)*-0.00114(-0.98)0.001963(2.39)**
education level secondary0.094601(2.64)***-0.01354(-1.17)-0.07235(-1.53)-0.02619(-0.87)0.035052(1.75)*
education level higher0.022119(0.35)0.004495(0.13)-0.04147(-0.48)-0.03247(-0.62)0.059318(1.07)
household total income lower0.032467(0.8)-0.00825(-0.85)-0.02379(-0.46)0.06527(1.76)*-0.05971(-2.88)***
household total income higher0.038618(1.09)-0.02454(-2)**0.019379(0.39)-0.03389(-1.02)-0.00173(-0.1)
with old man over 60-0.05167(-1.51)-0.01714(-1.66)*0.064808(1.35)0.03469(1.07)-0.03122(-1.77)*
with preschool children0.081982(1.85)*0.022259(1.34)-0.11115(-2.16)**0.018948(0.55)-0.01453(-0.79)
urban or suburban-0.06853(-2.18)**-0.0113(-1.18)-0.02386(-0.54)0.09138(2.88)***0.017065(0.92)
Tab.4  Marginal effects of the multinomial logit model
key influencing factorcorresponding suggestion
1. NG pipeline connectionconstruction gas pipeline in some remote suburban areas and old residential districts
2. NG’s safety characteristicregular-door inspection and safety training
3. kitchen adjacent to bathroommore scientific and energy-conserving building design
4. household head’s education leveladvocacy on clean energy usage
Tab.5  Key influencing factors and corresponding suggestions for NG water heater adoption
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