A practice–theory approach to homeowners' energy retrofits in four European areas

Bartiaux, Françoise; Gram‐Hanssen, Kirsten; Fonseca, Paula; Ozoliņa, Līga; Christensen, Toke Haunstrup

doi:10.1080/09613218.2014.900253

Cited by 105 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Much of the literature in the field has been heavily focused on the myriad social and environmental benefits that residential energy efficiency improvements can bring, particularly thanks to their ability to reduce household energy costs and improve thermal comfort, while mitigating carbon emissions and climate change (Ü rge-Vorsatz et al 2014). Such work has played a crucial role in moving the discussion of the drivers of energy poverty away from distributions of incomes and prices, while highlighting the multi-dimensional aspects of energy efficiency (Ü rge-Vorsatz and Tirado Herrero 2012, Bartiaux et al 2014). There are, however, significant opportunities for enriching such debates with a deeper understanding of the social and political reconfigurations associated with energy interventions in the residential stock -a process that necessitates significant realignments in the rhythm and practice of everyday life among affected individuals and communities.…”

Section: Domestic Energy Deprivation: a Multifaceted Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the spaces and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies, deprivation and fuel switching in post-communist Hungary

et al. 2015

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This paper focuses on the embeddedness of energy poverty -understood as the inability to secure a socially and materially necessitated level of energy services in the home -in the socio-technical legacies inherited from past development trajectories, as well as broader economic and institutional landscapes. Using Hungary as an example, we explore the recent expansion of energy poverty across different demographic and income groups. While much of the mainstream literature focuses on cases where energy poverty affects distinct social groups and issues, our analyses examine the systemic implications of a form of deprivation that involves a much wider range of social and spatial strata. We develop a framework that highlights the different ways in which inadequate access to energy services has resulted in the emergence of new political reconfigurations among a variety of actors, while prompting the articulation of household strategies with far-reaching structural consequences.

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Section: Domestic Energy Deprivation: a Multifaceted Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the spaces and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies, deprivation and fuel switching in post-communist Hungary

et al. 2015

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“…Cultural practices BPE methodology has recently taken a 'practice' turn (Schatzki, 2002) with the new understanding that building performance is informed by 'know-how and habits' alongside 'institutionalised knowledge and explicit rules', 'technologies and products' and 'engagements' (Bartiaux, Gram-Hanssen, Fonseca, Ozoliņa, & Christensen, 2014). This goes beyond traditional BPE survey methods and helps to explain the building performance gap in terms of bundled-up interactions between occupants, the technologies they use, and other human and non-human influences.…”

Section: Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Housing performance evaluation: challenges for international knowledge exchange

Stevenson

Baborska-Narożny

2017

Building Research & Information

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Developing effective building performance evaluation and feedback processes is a vital part of global efforts to reduce building energy use and gain insight into the actual performance of buildings and technologies. Although attempts have been made to introduce internationally agreed models for these processes, it is clear that various countries are producing different approaches according to their cultural, institutional and policy differences. Knowledge exchange is potentially a key means of developing a shared understanding of values, meanings and practices in relation to building performance evaluation. This paper identifies cultural and institutional barriers in the European Union for international building performance communities of practice utilizing knowledge exchange, from an experiential 'real-world' perspective. The preparation of a 30-month research project to help develop building performance evaluation in Poland and an associated bilateral symposium is closely evaluated through an action research case study in terms of the stakeholders, the national contexts in which they operated and the key challenges they faced. Recommendations are then made in terms of the support needed to develop more responsive research programmes in relation to developing international knowledge exchange, and the capacity-building elements required for these international communities of practice.

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“…In the energy field, there has been an increasing interest in looking beyond individual decision-making processes to the social and structural context within which decisions are made (Bartiaux et al 2014;Hargreaves et al 2013;Shove 2004). The concept of 'energy cultures' (Stephenson et al 2010(Stephenson et al , 2015 is particularly helpful in this respect, in offering a framework for considering the way in which a household's patterns of energy use are shaped by a combination of external factors over which they have little or no control and also by the everyday interactions between norms, practices and material culture (the technologies and physical infrastructure of the home) (Fig.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the impact of energy interventions: home audits vs. community events

et al. 2016

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New Zealand's housing stock tends to be of low thermal quality that can adversely affect the health and well-being of occupants as well as costing more than necessary to heat. Householders need information and motivation to make material changes and adopt new practices to achieve warmer and more energy-efficient homes. This study compares two different types of energy interventions with householders in three different suburbs in Dunedin, New Zealand. Two suburbs received a home energy audit whereby an auditor surveyed each house and provided personalised advice. Householders in the third suburb took part in community energy events that included general advice and practical workshops. The impacts of these interventions were evaluated through pre-and post-intervention surveys and post-intervention interviews. Home energy audits were successful in encouraging change both behavioural and practical, where it was possible. The energy events promoted community engagement and awareness relating to energy-saving actions. Participant feedback suggests that a combination of both types of intervention may be most effective in promoting household change, beginning with energy events in communities before offering home energy audits. This would enable people to share their thoughts and concerns about energy with the support of their social networks and engender trust in the process, before offering personalised audits. Overall, the results show that interventions need to be correctly targeted to appropriate communities to be effective.

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A practice–theory approach to homeowners' energy retrofits in four European areas

Cited by 105 publications

References 29 publications

Unpacking the spaces and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies, deprivation and fuel switching in post-communist Hungary

Unpacking the spaces and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies, deprivation and fuel switching in post-communist Hungary

Housing performance evaluation: challenges for international knowledge exchange

Evaluating the impact of energy interventions: home audits vs. community events

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