Keeping cool: practicing domestic refrigeration and environmental responsibility

Abstract

Domestic refrigerators have become symbols of climate change in energy efficiency campaigns; they are equipment that both permits and prohibits the performance of environmental citizenship. However, little is known about how subjectivities and practices interact, particularly with regard to questions about refrigeration and domestic energy. What might those of us interested in household sustainability learn from the relationships among refrigerators, energy, subjectivities, and practices, and from what these may reveal about environmental responsibility? We draw on data from mixed‐method qualitative research conducted with 28 households in Wollongong, Australia, and frame the analysis in terms of social practice theory, with additional attention to subjectivity. This framing helps us develop thinking about how refrigeration is done and consider whether and how things become waste by paying closer attention to the spatial imperatives underpinning these practices. It also assists us in considering how the ongoing relationships of social and material aspects of refrigeration co‐constitute a range of subjectivities. Further, our analysis advances discussions on how household practices and identities relate to public campaigns about environmental responsibility, particularly as the latter is constructed in terms of ‘energy efficiency’.

Fridge stories and other tales from the kitchen: a methodological toolbox for getting closer to everyday food practices

“…We argue that the toolbox offers something different than interviews or participant observations. While interviews target sensemaking about the studied practice, and participant observation targets the practice itself, our (combination of) methods is specifically designed to make the studied practice more present in the interview and bring the elements of the interview and participant observation usefully together (see also Phillips and Waitt 2018).…”

Collective cool

“…With an international growing trend of bigger and multiple appliances (Sahakian 2022), refrigerated food storage has implications for environmental sustainability, not least due to rising energy demand (Rinkinen, Shove & Smits 2017). Geographers have suggested that encouraging collective cooling practices, rather than individual, may reduce the use of refrigeration for food and air-conditioning while also making it accessible to more people (Farbotko & Waitt 2011;Phillips & Waitt 2018). Others have proposed the potential of resurrecting past practices for intervening in contemporary life and encouraging more sustainable ways of living (Maller & Strengers 2015).…”

“…Fridges and freezers are involved in daily ways of living and consumption conventions that have considerable impact on the climate and 1 Creative common license CC BY-NC allows sharing and adapting the image for non-commercial purposes as long as the creator is accredited. environment; for example, through increased food waste, preferences for fresh foods, multiple appliances, and energy demand (e.g., Waitt & Phillips 2016;Phillips & Waitt 2018;Rinkinen, Shove & Smits 2019;Evans & Mylan 2019;Sahakian 2022). Collective cooling practices have been suggested in this context as a way to make refrigeration available to more people while reducing energy consumption (Farbotko & Waitt 2011;Phillips & Waitt 2018).…”

“…environment; for example, through increased food waste, preferences for fresh foods, multiple appliances, and energy demand (e.g., Waitt & Phillips 2016;Phillips & Waitt 2018;Rinkinen, Shove & Smits 2019;Evans & Mylan 2019;Sahakian 2022). Collective cooling practices have been suggested in this context as a way to make refrigeration available to more people while reducing energy consumption (Farbotko & Waitt 2011;Phillips & Waitt 2018). This suggestion implies altering current practices.…”

Designing for Circularity—Addressing Product Design, Consumption Practices and Resource Flows in Domestic Kitchens

“…Social practice theory has been applied in various studies to understand residential energy use, e.g., [21][22][23]. It has also been used for understanding everyday kitchen life [24], kitchen transformation and renewal [25], and to study the use of specific appliances within the kitchen [26,27].…”