Abstract Electricity access and appliance usage are integral parts of developing a modern economy in rural areas. Unfortunately, many households in rural India struggle to access reliable electricity and, therefore, are unable to power appliances throughout the day. We use household survey data from 10,249 households across the Indian states of Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to explore potential drivers of electric appliance usage. By applying a series of linear and nonlinear models, we find that grid-connected households have more electricity available to them, and use significantly more electricity to power appliances in each of four designated household appliance categories: lighting (e.g., LEDs and CFLs), cooling (e.g., fans and AC units), entertainment (e.g., phones and TVs), and housekeeping (e.g., refrigerators and irons). Households using alternative power sources, including solar home systems (SHSs) and mini-grids, exhibit high uptake and use of lower-level appliances in the lighting and cooling categories, but much less so in the entertainment and housekeeping categories. Grid access is also correlated with higher electricity availability than alternative sources. Electricity availability is shown to be a highly significant predictor for powering appliances for longer time periods in all categories, but especially for more easily attainable appliances in lighting and cooling categories.

中文翻译：

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家电使用的驱动因素：来自印度农村的证据

摘要 电力接入和家电使用是农村现代经济发展的重要组成部分。不幸的是，印度农村的许多家庭难以获得可靠的电力，因此无法全天为电器供电。我们使用来自印度比哈尔邦、奥里萨邦、拉贾斯坦邦和北方邦的 10,249 个家庭的家庭调查数据来探索电器使用的潜在驱动因素。通过应用一系列线性和非线性模型，我们发现并网家庭有更多的电力可供他们使用，并且在四个指定的家用电器类别中的每一个中使用更多的电力为电器供电：照明（例如，LED 和 CFL）、冷却（例如风扇和空调）、娱乐（例如电话和电视）和家政服务（例如冰箱和熨斗）。使用替代能源的家庭，包括太阳能家庭系统 (SHS) 和微型电网，在照明和制冷类别中表现出对低级设备的高吸收率和使用率，但在娱乐和家政类别中则少得多。与替代来源相比，电网接入还与更高的电力可用性相关。电力可用性被证明是所有类别中较长时间为设备供电的非常重要的预测因素，尤其是对于照明和冷却类别中更容易获得的设备。与替代来源相比，电网接入还与更高的电力可用性相关。电力可用性被证明是所有类别中较长时间为设备供电的非常重要的预测因素，尤其是对于照明和冷却类别中更容易获得的设备。与替代来源相比，电网接入还与更高的电力可用性相关。电力可用性被证明是所有类别中较长时间为设备供电的非常重要的预测因素，尤其是对于照明和冷却类别中更容易获得的设备。