13 CoNCLUSIoN: CoMPARING HoUSEHoLD ENERGY …
149
The price of energy can influence consumers but is not sufficient in
itself to explain energy usage. The cost of energy must be placed in relation to revenues and other household expenditures. Many European
countries including the UK, Hungary and Bulgaria are facing particularly important challenges in terms of price and access to energy;
it is estimated that fuel poverty affects over 15% of British households (approximately 4 million) and 21% of the Hungarian population
(Fülöp and Lehoczki-Krsjak 2014). over 40% of Bulgarian households
are unable to heat their homes to an adequate level. on the contrary,
Switzerland, with a relatively high buying power and low prices of
electricity (compared to healthcare costs for example) uses a significant
amount of electric heating. In Germany, with higher prices of electricity,
a lower amount of expensive electric heating is used.
summary anD DisCussion
In comparing and contrasting energy-related problem framings and
social, material and institutional make-up across Europe, this concluding chapter highlights that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the
energy challenge and that policies for energy demand reduction have
to carefully consider and address the differences in material and institutional constitutions of energy demand and energy systems, locally,
regionally, nationally and cross-nationally. The summaries presented
by each country in this edited collection give some interesting insights
on what trends are currently underway, and what this implies for the
future of energy demand in Europe. The initiatives that focus on
household energy reveal interesting findings, such as the importance
of EU funding as well as other national funding schemes towards promoting innovative approaches to reduced energy usage, as well as the
significance of working with multiple stakeholders towards community
engagement, which is seen as preferable to national-led or ‘top-down’
initiatives. In this vein, there seems to be increasing interest—in policy
discourse if not in action—on the need to move away from the ‘passive consumer’ to the ‘active citizen’ when it comes to framing the
role of households in energy transitions. While most of the energy initiatives seem to be focused on individual and technological change,
there are promising examples of how initiatives can also address more
complex representations of change. Here, it could be relevant to consider not only the question of access to energy—with energy poverty
149
The price of energy can influence consumers but is not sufficient in
itself to explain energy usage. The cost of energy must be placed in relation to revenues and other household expenditures. Many European
countries including the UK, Hungary and Bulgaria are facing particularly important challenges in terms of price and access to energy;
it is estimated that fuel poverty affects over 15% of British households (approximately 4 million) and 21% of the Hungarian population
(Fülöp and Lehoczki-Krsjak 2014). over 40% of Bulgarian households
are unable to heat their homes to an adequate level. on the contrary,
Switzerland, with a relatively high buying power and low prices of
electricity (compared to healthcare costs for example) uses a significant
amount of electric heating. In Germany, with higher prices of electricity,
a lower amount of expensive electric heating is used.
summary anD DisCussion
In comparing and contrasting energy-related problem framings and
social, material and institutional make-up across Europe, this concluding chapter highlights that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the
energy challenge and that policies for energy demand reduction have
to carefully consider and address the differences in material and institutional constitutions of energy demand and energy systems, locally,
regionally, nationally and cross-nationally. The summaries presented
by each country in this edited collection give some interesting insights
on what trends are currently underway, and what this implies for the
future of energy demand in Europe. The initiatives that focus on
household energy reveal interesting findings, such as the importance
of EU funding as well as other national funding schemes towards promoting innovative approaches to reduced energy usage, as well as the
significance of working with multiple stakeholders towards community
engagement, which is seen as preferable to national-led or ‘top-down’
initiatives. In this vein, there seems to be increasing interest—in policy
discourse if not in action—on the need to move away from the ‘passive consumer’ to the ‘active citizen’ when it comes to framing the
role of households in energy transitions. While most of the energy initiatives seem to be focused on individual and technological change,
there are promising examples of how initiatives can also address more
complex representations of change. Here, it could be relevant to consider not only the question of access to energy—with energy poverty