『Abstract
　As energy consumption is closely related to all aspects of human life, it becomes the standard by which to measure people's quality of life and the national development level. Based on the “energy ladder” hypothesis, we conducted questionnaire surveys in the Western Loess Plateau of China, and accessed a considerable amount of information about the energy usage of rural and urban households. The results show that the per capita effective heat is 323.3, 282.8, 250.0 and 123.6 kgce in the provincial capital, medium-sized cities, county towns and rural areas, respectively. The energy ladder feature is obvious. Using 719 sample data, the multiple regression analysis was conducted between per capita effective heat and two independent variables including per capita income and the attributes of energy used, the parameter estimation of the cross-quadratic model produced more significant effects. The three-dimensional graph clearly shows the differences in living standards and survival status between urban and rural households. High-income residents in urban areas consume more high-quality energy, they enjoy an affluent lifestyle. While low-income households in rural areas obtain less effective heat, and use poor quality fuels, they are still at the level of basic survival.

Keywords: Energy ladder; Energy consumption; Survival status』

1. Review of human survival and development based on energy use
　1.1. Energy and the human development index (HDI)
　1.2. Ladder characteristics of energy demand
　1.3. Energy poverty
　1.4. The environmental impact of energy consumption
　1.5. Rapid growth of energy demand in China
　1.6. Brief summary
2. Study region
3. Research methodology
　3.1. Sample selection and data acquisition
　3.2. Measuring energy used
　3.3. Evaluation of the attributes of energy
　　3.3.1. Availability
　　3.3.2. Economy
　　3.3.3. Cleanliness
　　3.3.4. Flexibility
　　3.3.5. Convenience
　　3.3.6. Weighting the various attributes of energy
　　3.3.7. The comprehensive evaluation of attributes of energy
　3.4. Relationship between energy consumption, household income and attributes of energy used
4. Analysis of results
　4.1. Quantity and structure of energy use
　4.2. Differences in the attributes of energy
　4.3. Energy poverty
　4.4. Changing trends in energy use and income
　4.5. The energy ladder survival status of a household
5. Discussion of energy policy
6. Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References