Comparative Study on Energy Consumption Structure of Ordinary Rural Households and Rural Tourism Households in Zhejiang Province, China

With the rapid development of rural tourism in China, more and more rural households operate a rural tourism business. The purpose of this study is to understand the energy consumption characteristic of ordinary rural households (ORHs) and rural tourism households (RTHs) in the mountainous area and islands area in Zhejiang province. 225 households were surveyed, including 185 ORHs and 40 RTHs, based on a field survey in Quzhou (mountainous area) and Zhoushan (islands area). Results reveal that energy consumption of ORHs is low, but energy comsumption of RTHs is high, about 3 to 5 times higher than that of ORHs. Given the results, the government and RTHs should pay more attention to take measures to reduce energy comsumption. Meanwhile, the factors affecting households’ energy consumption are also analyzed. Energy consumption of ORHs is affected by frequently used area, family income level and permanent population. Then energy consumption of RTHs is mainly related to the total building area, number of air conditioner (AC), number of guestrooms and family income level.