Residential heat comfort practices: understanding users

Abstract

The user-centred approach to heat consumption in housing is a highly relevant, but often neglected, aspect of residential energy consumption. The practice–theory approach is presented as a development within the socio-technical approach. A detailed analysis of empirical evidence from different households living in similar buildings in a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, shows significant variation in energy consumption due to different usage patterns of both the house and its heating system. An analysis using practice–theory finds that technologies, embodied habits, knowledge, and meanings are the main components in the understanding of both what holds this practice together as a collectively shared practice and the different socio-material configurations of each of the individual households.

Un aspect hautement pertinent, mais souvent négligé, de la consommation énergétique résidentielle consiste en une approche de la consommation de chauffage dans les logements axée sur l'utilisateur. L'approche, basée sur la théorie de la pratique, est présentée comme un développement intervenant dans le cadre de l'approche socio-technique. Une analyse détaillée des données empiriques probantes provenant de différents ménages vivant dans des bâtiments similaires d'une banlieue de Copenhague, au Danemark, montre l'existence de variations importantes de la consommation énergétique en raison de modes d'utilisation différents, qu'il s'agisse de la maison ou du système de chauffage. Une analyse faisant appel à la théorie de la pratique permet de constater que les technologies, les habitudes ancrées, les connaissances et les significations sont les principaux éléments qui donnent à comprendre à la fois ce qui permet à cette pratique de se maintenir en tant que pratique collectivement partagée et les différentes configurations socio-matérielles de chacun des ménages concernés.

Mots clés: systèmes de contrôle chauffage domestique demande énergétique habitudes environnement intérieur comportement des habitants convention sociale confort thermique

Keywords:

• control systems
• domestic heating
• energy demand
• habits
• indoor environment
• inhabitant behaviour
• social convention
• thermal comfort

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Elizabeth Shove and the three anonymous referees for valuable comments; the Editor for assistance when revising the paper; and Philippa Suenson for drawing the layout plans.

Notes

The interview was conducted at the end of November; the outside temperature was 5–10°C.

To have an efficient district heating system, it is important that all households have as big a temperature difference as possible between the district heating water running into their house and leaving the house. To accomplish this, the households should use many radiators on a lower heating setting rather than a few on a higher heating setting. Thus, one radiator heating the whole house would need a very hot radiator, meaning that a lot of water would have to run through the radiator with a high in and an almost as high out temperature. In contrast, many radiators heating a house means that each radiator has to produce less heat and thus needs less water running through it. The heating consumption in these two cases is the same, but the cooling of the district heating water is different. Therefore, the heating company uses a penalty tax if households are not cooling their district heating water enough.

For an explanation, see endnote 2.