Energy consumption of the commercial tertiary sector: the case of France with survey data of complex design.

Summary This thesis focuses on the energy consumption of the commercial tertiary sector in France. Our approach is empirical, and is based on the Survey on Energy Consumption in the Tertiary Sector (ECET). Based on a review of the literature devoted to the econometric study of the determinants of energy consumption in buildings (residential or tertiary), we highlight the coexistence of two estimation methods, to which we return. We also expose the consensus or debates on the effects of the studied determinants. Since the data used in this thesis are derived from a survey with a complex sampling design, we present the statistical tools adapted to the exploitation of data from this type of sampling, and then we analyze the controversy that continues to exist on the estimation of econometric models on survey data. We then mobilize our database to provide a first statistical description of energy consumption in the commercial tertiary sector in France. This statistical description is based on a nomenclature that we construct in order to obtain information at the infra-sectoral level. Finally, we use all the methods and approaches previously identified to study the determinants of energy demand in the tertiary sector on the basis of an econometric analysis of the ECET data. This leads us to a double reading of our results, both as elements of answer to the question of the impact of the variables studied on the energy demand of establishments, and as elements of comparison of the different methods.