The role of environmental values, socio-demographics and building characteristics in setting room temperatures in winter
2019
Namazkhan, Maliheh | Albers, Casper | Steg, Linda
To promote a sustainable energy transition, it is important to encourage energy conservation by various actors including households. Strategies to promote energy savings will be more effective if they target key factors that affect behaviour associated with a high energy demand. Space heating is responsible for a substantial proportion of overall household energy use. This study investigated which variables are related to room temperature settings as a key behaviour influencing gas use in households. Extending previous research, we examined to what extent three different types of variables are related to temperature settings in the living room during day time and night time, namely buildings’ physical characteristics, socio-demographics, and psychological factors. Results of a large-scale questionnaire study among 1461 Dutch households showed that age of the respondent, number of inhabitants in the household, the year of construction of the house and biospheric values were strongly related to room temperature settings during day time. Room temperature settings during night time were particularly related to the year of construction and biospheric values strength. Our results demonstrate that integrated approaches enhance our understanding of factors influence household gas use. Theoretical and practical policy implications of these findings are discussed.
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