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Habitual practice’ and domestic energy consumption: identifying and describing potential ‘grips’ for change
Maréchal, Kevin; Holzemer, Laurence
2011In European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (Ed.) Proceedings of the ECEEE 2011 Summer Study “Energy Efficiency first: the foundation of a low-carbon society”
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Keywords :
Habits; Energy consumption; Change of behaviour; Practice theory; Grips
Abstract :
[en] The transition towards a low carbon society requires modifying current energy consumption patterns in households. Considering the insufficient results achieved so far by policies aimed at reducing energy consumption, this suggests a need for ‘escaping’ from the obsessive rationality-efficiency perspective. This implies departing from an ‘expert’ view and basing the analysis on those energy-related practices that are meaningful for the practitioners (e.g. people do not ‘consume gas’ but shower before going to work to wake up or cook meals for their children, etc). In order to look at this multidimensional issue of energy consumption through innovative lenses, we use an alternative conceptual framework building on the concept of habitualpractice. The rationale is to provide a precise characterisation of household energy-related practices allowing for a good understanding of their content (i.e. meaning, competences, understanding, etc) together with a clearer picture of how they are formed and sustained over time and whether they are subject to context variability and/or stability. One key element is that practices themselves embody the elements of constraint, ability and stability, sometimes referred to as ‘seeds of change’. The aim of this research is to identify and describe these ‘seeds’, which we call ‘grips’. The reason is that energy policies could lean on the grips that emerge all along the processes involved in the dynamics of practices and can be ‘(de-)activated’ for supporting a behavioural change. For instance, when elaborating on reward-based tools, policy-makers should account for skilfulness since the feeling of being competent in performing a practice provides internal reward and/or social recognition. The added value of specifying grips arises from the fact that they can contribute to the identification of consumption profiles and then be used as a dialogue interface between those profiles and the design of innovative energy-saving tools.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Maréchal, Kevin ;  Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Economie et développement rural
Holzemer, Laurence
Language :
English
Title :
Habitual practice’ and domestic energy consumption: identifying and describing potential ‘grips’ for change
Publication date :
2011
Event name :
ECEEE 2011 Summer Study “Energy Efficiency first: the foundation of a low-carbon society”
Event organizer :
European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
Event place :
Hyères, France
Event date :
6-11 June 2011
Audience :
International
Main work title :
Proceedings of the ECEEE 2011 Summer Study “Energy Efficiency first: the foundation of a low-carbon society”
Editor :
European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
ISBN/EAN :
978-91-633-4455-8
Pages :
2021-2029
Peer reviewed :
Peer reviewed
Available on ORBi :
since 21 March 2017

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