Assumption 3: Increased standard-of-living expectations
German society’s wants and needs will play a vitally important part in its future energy system. Increased standard-of-living expectations, such as more housing space, more electrical home appliances, increased demand for consumer goods and greater mobility will drive up demand for energy and offset any gains from efforts to conserve energy.
Germany’s standard-of-living expectations are on the increase. The current trend towards living in single-family homes outside city centres will lead to increased energy consumption for building maintenance and increasing mobility. The standard of living is also improving. This will entail an increased residential-sector demand for information and communication technology as well as electrical home appliances. However, there are only limited energy resources available to handle this increased demand. That is why we need to implement radical energy conservation measures, from production through to consumption.