Implications of declining household sizes and expectations of home comfort for domestic energy demand
| Autor: | Katherine Ellsworth-Krebs |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Carnegie Trust, University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Energy (esotericism)
Energy Engineering and Power Technology Climate change 02 engineering and technology HM 010402 general chemistry 01 natural sciences Energy policy Domestic energy consumption Development economics G1 Per capita Economics SDG 13 - Climate Action SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy Energy demand Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment HM Sociology G Geography (General) Energy consumption 3rd-DAS 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 0104 chemical sciences Electronic Optical and Magnetic Materials Fuel Technology 0210 nano-technology |
| Popis: | Techno-economic approaches largely avoid delineating necessary energy uses or questioning how excessive lifestyle expectations may curtail attempts to achieve ambitious climate change targets. In this Perspective, I present data suggesting a general trend of increasing domestic floor area per capita globally and argue that this ought to be a key focus in future energy research, considering that house size is the largest determinant of domestic energy consumption. Particular attention should be directed at the confluence of factors that influence floor area per capita and questions of lifestyle expectations, energy sufficiency and invisible energy policies that have enabled the rise in floor area per capita both deliberately and inadvertently. Overall, this elucidates why energy research must consider lifestyle expectations and demographic trends that are generally seen as outside the remit of energy policy. This Perspective suggests that the combined influence of trends toward increasing house size and decreasing household size have important implications for energy consumption per capita. This points to new avenues for research and policy related to lifestyle expectations and housing development. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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