A Three-Dimensional Model of Residential Energy Consumer Archetypes for Local Energy Policy Design in the UK

Zhang, Tao; Siebers, Peer-Olaf; Aickelin, Uwe

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2823289

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As we did not conduct a post-survey evaluation of non-responses, it is not possible to know the precise nature of any potential non-response biases. Table 1 maps the variables measured by individual survey questions against the relevant theoretical constructs which pertain to environmental predisposition [30][31][32][33], knowledge of environmental issues [34,35], energy habits and attitudes [26,[36][37][38] as well as energy behaviour related to appliance ownership and use [2,39,40]. We recognize that behaviours, attitudes and habits in relation to energy consumption in homes are distinct from each other, and variables measured through the questionnaire are mapped according to whether they represent behaviours, attitudes and habits.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Energy consumption in households comprises over a quarter of total energy use in the UK [1]. Human behaviour is one of the main factors that can influence domestic energy consumption, together with the physical properties of the dwelling, climate, number and demographic profile of occupants, household income, lifestyle, and appliance ownership and use [2][3][4][5]. Indeed, variation in residents' behaviour can cause significant differences in energy consumption between dwellings with otherwise similar characteristics (e.g. household size, income, and building energy performance) [3,6]. It is therefore important to understand influences upon behaviour in households as these in turn have implications for domestic energy use. In this respect, strategies to stimulate pro-environmental behaviour represent one means of modifying behaviour in households in order to promote energy conservation and reduce environmental impact [7].Pro-environmental behaviour is a form of environmental action that 'consciously seeks to minimize the negative impact of one's actions on the natural and built world ' [8, p.240], and 'only refers to those personal actions that are directly related to environmental improvement ' [9, p.325]. Such environmental actions can be performed individually or collectively, and may be direct or indirect in their approach to mitigating harm to, and improving, the environment [9]. Pro-environmental behaviours can also be influenced by internal factors such as environmental awareness, values and attitudes [10] and external factors such as social norms, interaction with other individuals and financial constraints [11,12].In this study we assess how environmental knowledge influences pro-environmental behaviour in households. We establish and confirm links between knowledge about the environment and energy, actions on Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study AbstractIn this paper we evaluate the impact of knowledge about environmental and energy issues on potential pro-environmental behaviour in households, specifically relating to behaviours, attitudes and habits towards energy use. Our results are based on an empirical survey and we find significant correlations which indicate that residents with positive environmental values and greater environmental knowledge are more likely to demonstrate energy behaviours, attitudes and habits which lead to energy saving activities in households. This is further supported through a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which suggests that energy saving behaviour may also vary according to gender and employment status. Conversely, we find only limited evidence of statistical associations between environmental predisposition and knowledge, and ownership and frequency of use of household appliances. We argue that our results contribute to the significant body of literature supporting the role of knowledge in active engagement with energy issues. This study is timely following closely policy developments in activ...

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The UK has a national target of a 34% reduction in overall CO 2 emission in all sectors by 2020 compared with 1990 levels [105]. Likewise, in the residential sector, the government has established a longterm ambition of CO 2 mitigation by at least 80% with respect to the 1990 baseline by 2050 [27,104,106], and has also set a target for all newly built dwellings to be 'zero carbon' from 2016 onwards [1,27].…”

Section: The Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global review of energy consumption, CO 2 emissions and policy in the residential sector (with an overview of the top ten CO 2 emitting countries)

Nejat

Jomehzadeh

Taheri

et al. 2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

1,544

594

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…For example, Zhang et al [51] defined several household types with different characteristics: pioneer greens, follower greens, concerned greens, home stayers, unconscientious wasters, regular wasters, daytime wasters and disengaged wasters. Garabuau-Moussaoui [43] formulated a variant of this in a unique historical study of how individuals in France, at each stage of life, build a specific relationship with energy and energy efficiency.…”

Section: Household or Household's Members As Targets Of Information?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Is Behaving? Consequences for Energy Policy of Concept Confusion

Ellegård

Palm

2015

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Policies to reduce household energy use usually target the individual customer. This is probably one explanation for the limited effect of many information policies, because two concepts with different meanings are confused: individual and household. In most contexts, an individual stands for what s/he does, but in the policy context, an individual is taken to represent the entire household. This is not problematic for a single-person household, but, in a multi-person household, activities performed by different household members influence the whole household's energy use. This paper illuminates problems arising from confusing the concepts of household and individual when developing policies to reduce household energy use. Examples relate to indoor space heating and energy-intensive home-based activities. The results indicate that it is analytically simple to consider individuals at home, as well as their activities using electrical appliances contributing to heating, but much more complicated to take the whole household into consideration. Our model provides a basis for better-targeted information actions to reduce energy use. Also, empirically based models capturing variations between households with different activity patterns are important for developing policies resulting in reduced energy use for space heating in multi-person households.

show abstract

A Three-Dimensional Model of Residential Energy Consumer Archetypes for Local Energy Policy Design in the UK

Cited by 4 publications

References 23 publications

Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

A global review of energy consumption, CO 2 emissions and policy in the residential sector (with an overview of the top ten CO 2 emitting countries)

Who Is Behaving? Consequences for Energy Policy of Concept Confusion

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About