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DR EIMEAR HEASLIP
NUI Galway
TOWARDS ZERO: SEAI'S NATIONAL DEEP RETROFIT CONFERENCE 2017
AVIVA STADIUM, JUNE 21ST 2017
ENERGY CULTURES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY
PRACTICES WITHIN HOUSEHOLDS
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ENERGY RESEARCH NEEDS SOCIAL SCIENCE 2
Reference: Sovacool, B.K., 2014. Energy studies need social
science. Nature, 511(7511), p.529.
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RETROFITTING - HOUSEHOLD ENERGY USE STILL INCREASING? 3
Residential energy use increased by 5.2% in 2015 relative to
2014
(3.5% when corrected for weather effects) (SEAI, 2016)
Image source: telegraph.co.uk
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4
11.5% in 2015
Reference: SEAI (2016), Energy in Ireland 1990 – 2015, 2016
Report
The price of oil to Irish
households fell in the region
of 20% at the same time.
2.3% in 2015 (25% of residential
energy use)
3.6% in 2015(21% of residential energy use)
0.3% in 2015 (10.2% of residential energy use)
RETROFITTING - HOUSEHOLD ENERGY USE STILL INCREASING?
Image source: shutterstock
Image source: bikeradar.com
Image source: gettyimage.ie
Image source: bordnamona.ie
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WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY USE? 5
The use of goods and services that meet people’s basic needs and
bring
a better quality of life while having only minimal impact on
the
environment (Jackson 2006).
Image source: UNDESADSD
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY USE - ISSUES 6
Contestable - debates about:
°Needs versus wants
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY USE - ISSUES 7
Contestable - debates about:
°Needs versus wants
°Quality of life
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY USE - ISSUES 8
Contestable - debates about:
°Needs versus wants
°Quality of life
°Degrees of acceptable impact
on the environment
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ROUTINES AND RUPTURES 9
°Routines: (combinations of) practices that are carried out
repeatedly
and that become habitual in the process
Image source: learnenglishforum.com
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RUPTURES AND ROUTINES 10
°Ruptures: processes or events that interrupt routines
Hello, electric
company?Uh oh!
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CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF ENERGY RESEARCH IN THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES11
°Social Practice Theory
°Energy Cultures Framework
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PRACTICES AND CULTURES 12
°Practice: more or less routinised activity that incorporates
meaning,
skills and competences, material and technological elements,
and
uses energy - important social-scientific concept and heuristic
tool
°Culture: collectively shared, taken-for-granted prescriptions
for the
adoption of particular (bundles of) practices to meet the
demands of
everyday life (e.g. organisation of food provision, regulation
of gender
and family roles)
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ENERGISE PROJECT OVERVIEW
Taking into account everyday practices related to energy
services
13
How practices play out among different socio-economic
groups,
and across cultures and contexts
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ENERGISE PROJECT OVERVIEW 14
What people actually do, across
cultures and contexts
Involving habits / routines that can
be energy intensive
What people say/ believe in
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SOCIAL PRACTICE THEORY 15
Meaning
CompetenceMaterial
Cultural conventions, expectations
and socially shared meanings
Knowledge and
embodied skillsObjects, tools and
infrastructures
Reference: Shove, E., Pantzar, M. and Watson, M., 2012. The
dynamics of social practice: Everyday life
and how it changes. Sage publications.
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SOCIAL PRACTICE THEORY AND RETROFITTING 16
Necessity or choice? Comfort or cost?
Understanding how to
use heating systems,
understanding how
insulation etc. works
Ease of accessibility to
retrofitting experts,
availability of grants and
funding for retrofitting
Meaning
CompetenceMaterial
Adapted from: Shove, E., Pantzar, M. and Watson, M., 2012. The
dynamics of social practice: Everyday
life and how it changes. Sage publications.
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Norms
Material
Culture
ENERGY CULTURES FRAMEWORK 17
Practices
Reference: Stephenson, J., Barton, B., Carrington, G., Gnoth,
D., Lawson, R. and Thorsnes, P., 2010. Energy cultures: A framework
for
understanding energy behaviours. Energy policy, 38(10),
pp.6120-6129.
External
influences
External
influences
External
influences
External
influences
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Norms
Material
Culture
Highly efficient heating
systems
High building fabric
performance
Availability of grants
for undertaking
retrofitting
Renewable heating
technologies
ENERGY CULTURES FRAMEWORK AND RETROFITTING 18
Uptake of grants for
undertaking retrofitting
Increased use of efficient
heating systems and
thermostats
Increased monitoring of
energy used for heating
PracticesGrowing environmental
awareness and concern
Increased expectations of
comfort
Ease of information
distribution and sharing
Adapted from: Stephenson, J., Barton, B., Carrington, G., Gnoth,
D., Lawson, R. and Thorsnes, P., 2010. Energy cultures: A framework
for
understanding energy behaviours. Energy policy, 38(10),
pp.6120-6129.
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GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE19
Blue: ENERGISE Living Labs Countries
Grey + Blue: Countries covered by ENERGISE
synthesis and classification work
Comprehensively covers full
spectrum of consumption in the
European Union
Investigates the factors driving
individual and collective energy
choices and practices
Classifies energy initiatives in 30
European countries to inform the
subsequent design, rollout and
monitoring of two culturally
sensitive Living Labs, to reduce
household energy consumption,
across eight countries.
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WHAT ARE LIVING LABS 20
°Living lab(oratory): describes a process, initiative or
‘real-world
experiment’ that is spatially defined, brings together
diverse
social actors, with a view to fostering innovation, research
and
development.
°Living Labs explicitly encourage innovation through the
application of both lay and scientific expert knowledge to
real-
world problems (e.g. excessive energy uses).
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ENGAGING CONSUMERS
Living Lab approaches, towards participative and
collaborative
research and action
21
Considering both individual and collective interventions
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PROJECT SUMMARY 22
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Tel.: +353 91492171
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ENERGISEproject
NUI GALWAY
