IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v142y2020ics0301421520302044.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Warming with wood: Exploring the everyday heating practices of rural off-gas households in Wales

Author

Listed:
  • Roberts, Erin

Abstract

Rural off-gas households, the highest carbon emitters in the UK, have largely been overlooked in energy scholarship and policy, resulting in limited understanding of the ways in which the socio-material inequalities shape their likelihood of moving into fuel poverty. This paper sets out to fill this knowledge gap by developing a better understanding of the role that non-standard heating technologies play in the thermal comfort practices of rural off-gas households in Wales. Specifically, this paper focuses on ‘traditional’ wood or biomass heating – open fires, enclosed stoves and range-ovens – that are popular and commonplace throughout the UK, particularly in rural households, where they may be utilised for primary or supplementary heating. Findings show that traditional wood/biomass heating, as part of a rural off-grid heating-mix, enables households to respond to financial tensions in meaningful ways that are perceived to make their circumstances better. Additionally, insights highlight the importance of considering the potential conflicts between sustainability agendas that inform contemporary energy policymaking, as well as understanding the existing dynamics of rural off-gas thermal comfort for informing just low-carbon transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberts, Erin, 2020. "Warming with wood: Exploring the everyday heating practices of rural off-gas households in Wales," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:142:y:2020:i:c:s0301421520302044
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111451
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421520302044
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111451?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phillip Vannini & Jonathan Taggart, 2013. "Voluntary Simplicity, Involuntary Complexities, and the Pull of Remove: The Radical Ruralities of off-Grid Lifestyles," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(2), pages 295-311, February.
    2. Rudge, Janet, 2012. "Coal fires, fresh air and the hardy British: A historical view of domestic energy efficiency and thermal comfort in Britain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 6-11.
    3. Depuru, Soma Shekara Sreenadh Reddy & Wang, Lingfeng & Devabhaktuni, Vijay, 2011. "Electricity theft: Overview, issues, prevention and a smart meter based approach to control theft," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 1007-1015, February.
    4. Bouzarovski, Stefan & Simcock, Neil, 2017. "Spatializing energy justice," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 640-648.
    5. Roberts, Deborah & Vera-Toscano, Esperanza & Phimister, Euan, 2015. "Fuel poverty in the UK: Is there a difference between rural and urban areas?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 216-223.
    6. Wrapson, Wendy & Devine-Wright, Patrick, 2014. "‘Domesticating’ low carbon thermal technologies: Diversity, multiplicity and variability in older person, off grid households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 807-817.
    7. Reeve, Ian & Scott, John & Hine, Donald W. & Bhullar, Navjot, 2013. "“This is not a burning issue for me”: How citizens justify their use of wood heaters in a city with a severe air pollution problem," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 204-211.
    8. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2013. "Motivational factors influencing the homeowners’ decisions between residential heating systems: An empirical analysis for Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 221-233.
    9. Julie Cupples & Victoria Guyatt & Jamie Pearce, 2007. "“Put on a Jacket, You Wuss†: Cultural Identities, Home Heating, and Air Pollution in Christchurch, New Zealand," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(12), pages 2883-2898, December.
    10. O'Sullivan, Kate & Golubchikov, Oleg & Mehmood, Abid, 2020. "Uneven energy transitions: Understanding continued energy peripheralization in rural communities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefan Bouzarovski & Saska Petrova & Sergio Tirado-Herrero, 2014. "From Fuel Poverty to Energy Vulnerability: The Importance of Services, Needs and Practices," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-25, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    2. Bouzarovski, Stefan & Simcock, Neil, 2017. "Spatializing energy justice," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 640-648.
    3. Caitlin Robinson & Stefan Bouzarovski & Sarah Lindley, 2018. "Underrepresenting neighbourhood vulnerabilities? The measurement of fuel poverty in England," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(5), pages 1109-1127, August.
    4. Kahouli, Sondès & Okushima, Shinichiro, 2021. "Regional energy poverty reevaluated: A direct measurement approach applied to France and Japan," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Kola-Bezka, Maria & Leki, Krzysztof, 2024. "Household energy behaviour in the times of crisis: Lessons for policy initiatives from peripheral, fossil-dependent regions of the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. Sahlberg, Anna & Karlsson, Bodil S.A. & Sjöblom, Jonas & Ström, Henrik, 2022. "Don't extinguish my fire – Understanding public resistance to a Swedish policy aimed at reducing particle emissions by phasing out old wood stoves," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Luciano Lavecchia & Raffaele Miniaci & Paola Valbonesi & Gowthami Venkateswaran, 2024. "Energy poverty risk: a spatial index based on energy efficiency," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 864, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    8. Bram van Vulpen, 2020. "Rethinking The Regional Bounds Of Justice: A Scoping Review Of Spatial Justice In Eu Regions," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 14(2), pages 5-34, DECEMBER.
    9. Chapman, Andrew & Okushima, Shinichiro, 2019. "Engendering an inclusive low-carbon energy transition in Japan: Considering the perspectives and awareness of the energy poor," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    10. Lee V. White & Bradley Riley & Sally Wilson & Francis Markham & Lily O’Neill & Michael Klerck & Vanessa Napaltjari Davis, 2024. "Geographies of regulatory disparity underlying Australia’s energy transition," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 92-105, January.
    11. Hache, Emmanuel & Leboullenger, Déborah & Mignon, Valérie, 2017. "Beyond average energy consumption in the French residential housing market: A household classification approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 82-95.
    12. Rodriguez-Alvarez, Ana & Llorca, Manuel & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2021. "Alleviating energy poverty in Europe: Front-runners and laggards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    13. Marcin Wójcik & Pamela Jeziorska-Biel, 2023. "Geographies of Energy: Key Issues and Challenges towards Spatial Justice Concepts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-9, January.
    14. Upham, Dr Paul & Sovacool, Prof Benjamin & Ghosh, Dr Bipashyee, 2022. "Just transitions for industrial decarbonisation: A framework for innovation, participation, and justice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    15. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2016. "Switching from fossil fuel to renewables in residential heating systems: An empirical study of homeowners' decisions in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 95-105.
    16. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Balezentis, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Renovation of Multi-Flat Buildings and to Share the Costs of Renovation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    17. Costa-Campi, Maria Teresa & Daví-Arderius, Daniel & Trujillo-Baute, Elisa, 2018. "The economic impact of electricity losses," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 309-322.
    18. Paul Baginski & Christoph Weber, 2017. "A Consumer Decision-making Process? Unfolding Energy Efficiency Decisions of German Owner-occupiers," EWL Working Papers 1708, University of Duisburg-Essen, Chair for Management Science and Energy Economics, revised Aug 2017.
    19. Markard, Jochen & Erlinghagen, Sabine, 2017. "Technology users and standardization: Game changing strategies in the field of smart meter technology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 226-235.
    20. Radtke, Jörg & Scherhaufer, Patrick, 2022. "A social science perspective on conflicts in the energy transition: An introduction to the special issue," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:142:y:2020:i:c:s0301421520302044. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.