Constructing energy poverty profiles for an effective energy policy

• Published in: Energy policy Vol. 128; pp. 727 - 734
• Main Authors: Primc, Kaja, Slabe-Erker, Renata, Majcen, Boris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Central heating; Climate change; Comparative analysis; Construction; Demographics; Energy; Energy conservation; Energy efficiency; Energy policy; Energy poverty; Fuzzy sets; Fuzzy-set; Health care policy; Health status; Heat exchangers; Heat pumps; Heating; Household size; Households; Housing; HVAC; Interdependence; Labor force; Labor market; Low income groups; Ownership; Policy making; Poverty; Poverty profiles; Profiles; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative comparative analysis; Residential energy; Sociodemographics; Solar collectors; Qualitative comparative analysis; Fuzzy-set; Poverty profiles; Energy poverty
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.01.059

Energy poverty is becoming ever more important for academia and policymakers. This study conducts fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with the aim of constructing energy poverty profiles. FsQCA was performed on 150 households. The results show that energy-poor households are characterised by the interdependence and intertwining of socio-demographic (ownership status, education level, labour force status and household size) and housing (type of building, central heating system and solar collectors/heat pump) characteristics. The conditions form eight equifinal configurations related to energy-poor households. None of the individual characteristics is able to explain energy poverty alone, although strong interrelations are present in the outcomes. The study also highlights that the conditions play different roles in the presence or absence of energy poverty, giving policymakers the necessary leeway to formulate effective policies as part of agendas covering poverty in general, poor health, climate change and domestic energy inefficiency. This study suggests that energy poverty is a structural issue, mainly arising from poor energy-efficient buildings and/or labour market inefficiencies.
•Generally, a single condition is neither necessary nor sufficient for energy poverty.•The interaction of key factors is crucial for explaining energy poverty.•Eight equifinal paths lead to households’ energy poverty.•Energy poverty is largely a structural issue.