ABSTRACT
The demand of household energy and the way it is supplied determines the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions a specific house, community or city generates to provide thermal comfort to its inhabitants. The demand for energy is typically dependent on the age and state of the building(s) and the user behaviour. The supply of energy, however, is typically influenced by external (to the house owner or tenant) factors, such as the availability of different forms of fuel (for example natural gas or biomass), presence of technologies or potential for them (for example district heating or geothermal supply), influence of financial measures and subsidies or factors such as sufficient land available for a ground-coupled heat pump or the aspect of a roof for solar panels. Therefore, there is a degree of control that an individual can have over the demand for energy (a house owner can decided to energy renovate their home) but the supply is often limited by external factors or is community dependent.
