13 CoNCLUSIoN: CoMPARING HoUSEHoLD ENERGY …
141
soCio-DemographiC CharaCteristiCs
Socio-demographic characteristics are an important dimension for understanding current energy-related practices and opportunities for change.
The usual social categories ‘age-gender-(social)class’ have effects on how
such practices are performed. For example, Gram-Hanssen and Georg
(2017) show the link between a person’s economic resource, the type
of building they live in and their energy habits. Sahakian (2018) also
demonstrates the same link in the context of elite households. Economic
differences between people lead to different technological acquisition and
different habitat conditions, in short, different patterns of consumption.
These differences lead several authors to state that thermal conditions
should fit the type of building as well as its occupants (Kunkel et al. 2015;
Nicol and Wilson 2011; Bopp 2007; Boerstra et al. 2015). The type of
occupants and the length of their stay are factors that are classifiable; in
other words, they allow standard calculations to apprehend the variability of consumption behaviour. However, as Boerstra et al.’s (2015) critical
analysis suggest, these general classifications do not necessarily fit people’s
perception of comfort and they may lead to higher energy use.
While the links between education levels and energy usage are not linear nor necessarily causal, education levels as a form of social capital may
contribute to environmental awareness around energy issues. Age is also
seen to have an influence on energy practices, as can be illustrated by
the example of laundry. Costanza et al. (2014) suggest that younger people tend to be less predictable in their behaviour and wash at irregular
frequencies. Moreover, age has an impact on washing temperatures, as
Laitala et al.’s (2012) paper on Norwegian practices indicates. Indeed,
they found that younger respondents had lower than average temperatures, and older people had more embedded habits related to washing at
hot temperatures.
The location of households, between rural and urban contexts, has
a significant influence in the shaping of energy use. It will for instance
influence the type and size of the dwelling (e.g. people are more likely
to live in a detached house in a rural area), sources of available energy
(e.g. district heating may not be an option for rural dwellers) or the connection to the energy system (e.g. the size of a grid can depend on the
size of the municipality). Definition of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ varies between
countries in Europe, while some countries such as Switzerland and the
141
soCio-DemographiC CharaCteristiCs
Socio-demographic characteristics are an important dimension for understanding current energy-related practices and opportunities for change.
The usual social categories ‘age-gender-(social)class’ have effects on how
such practices are performed. For example, Gram-Hanssen and Georg
(2017) show the link between a person’s economic resource, the type
of building they live in and their energy habits. Sahakian (2018) also
demonstrates the same link in the context of elite households. Economic
differences between people lead to different technological acquisition and
different habitat conditions, in short, different patterns of consumption.
These differences lead several authors to state that thermal conditions
should fit the type of building as well as its occupants (Kunkel et al. 2015;
Nicol and Wilson 2011; Bopp 2007; Boerstra et al. 2015). The type of
occupants and the length of their stay are factors that are classifiable; in
other words, they allow standard calculations to apprehend the variability of consumption behaviour. However, as Boerstra et al.’s (2015) critical
analysis suggest, these general classifications do not necessarily fit people’s
perception of comfort and they may lead to higher energy use.
While the links between education levels and energy usage are not linear nor necessarily causal, education levels as a form of social capital may
contribute to environmental awareness around energy issues. Age is also
seen to have an influence on energy practices, as can be illustrated by
the example of laundry. Costanza et al. (2014) suggest that younger people tend to be less predictable in their behaviour and wash at irregular
frequencies. Moreover, age has an impact on washing temperatures, as
Laitala et al.’s (2012) paper on Norwegian practices indicates. Indeed,
they found that younger respondents had lower than average temperatures, and older people had more embedded habits related to washing at
hot temperatures.
The location of households, between rural and urban contexts, has
a significant influence in the shaping of energy use. It will for instance
influence the type and size of the dwelling (e.g. people are more likely
to live in a detached house in a rural area), sources of available energy
(e.g. district heating may not be an option for rural dwellers) or the connection to the energy system (e.g. the size of a grid can depend on the
size of the municipality). Definition of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ varies between
countries in Europe, while some countries such as Switzerland and the