Presentation for the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2015
Behavioural change in the anthropocene –
charting new pathways towards sustainability
Line Valdorff Madsen
Sustainable Cities and Housing
Danish Building Research Institute
Aalborg University Copenhagen
UserTEC – User practices, technologies and residential energy consumption
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Changing the focus on users and energy consumption:
From ‘resource man’ to comfort conventions and everyday
practitioners
Background
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PhD project about the relations between comfort, homeliness and energy
consumption in housing from an everyday life perspective, with the dwelling
as a spatial context.
”Buildings don’t use energy, people do”
Energy is consumed through daily home-making practices
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Interests and aims
Examine comfort as a social practice concept  comfort as a
meaning element ‘guiding’ everyday practices in the home
Examine notions of comfort and notions of home as interrelated
- And how all of our senses are involved in perceiving and practicing
these
Examine conventions of comfort and homeliness and what this means
for energy consumption in housing
Refocus on what a comfortable home is  Understand comfort as
meaningful social practice concept that c ould inform building and
retrofitting of sustainable housing.
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The concept of comfort
Technical approach: standardised norms and structures
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“Thermal comfort”
An attribute
Adaptation
Socio-technical approach: historical, cultural and social context
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Conventions or norms
Heating routines
A social practice approach: focus on everyday life
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Social, bodily, mental and material elements
Comfort guides how we perform daily practices
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Housing in Denmark
• 4 4 % o f d we l l i n g s a r e s i n g l e - f a m i l y h o u s e s
• Av e r a g e h o u s e h o l d s i z e h a s d e c r e a s e d t o 2 , 1 ( 2 0 1 4 )
• Av e r a g e n u m b e r o f s q u a r e m e t e r s p r. d we l l i n g i s 111 , 6
( 2 0 1 4 ) , a n d p r. o c c u p a n t 5 2 , 1 ( 2 0 1 4 )
• F a m i l y s i z e a n d n u m b e r s o f o c c u p a n t s h a s d e c r e a s e d , wh i l e
t h e d we l l i n g s a r e g e t t i n g b i g g e r.
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Qualitative field study
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I n - d e p t h i n t e r v i e ws ( i n c l . h o m e t o u r s ) a n d v i s u a l m e t h o d s
(photo elicitation study)
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Three groups of single-family housing, related to building
a g e , a l l wi t h d i s t r i c t h e a t i n g
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1 7 I n f o r m a n t s i n 1 4 h o u s e s : a l l b u t o n e a r e h o m e - o wn e r s ,
l o we r t o h i g h e r m i d d l e c l a s s a n d l i v i n g a s n u c l e a r f a m i l i e s
wi t h o r wi t h o u t c h i l d r e n a t h o m e ( e x c e p t o n e wi d o we d
wo m a n )
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Interests of paper
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How conventions of comfort are expressed in everyday life
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How ideas about comfort is constructed on both a micro and a macro level
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Understanding comfort as both an element in daily home-making practices
and societal conventions structuring how we go about making a home as
well as how we built houses
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Social practices
” A p r a c t i c e i s a r o u t i n i z e d t yp e o f b e h a v i o u r wh i c h c o n s i s t s o f
several elements, interconnected to one another: forms of
bodily activities, forms of mental activities, ’things’ and their
u s e , a b a c k g r o u n d k n o wl e d g e i n t h e f o r m o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g ,
k n o w- h o w, s t a t e s o f e m o t i o n a n d m o t i v a t i o n a l k n o wl e d g e . ”
(Reckwitz, 2002)
” ( … ) p r a c t i c e s a r e d e f i n e d b y i n t e r d e p e n d e n t r e l a t i o n s b e t we e n
materials, competences and meanings.”
(Shove et al. 2012)
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Comfort: Space, even heating and fresh air
“(…) we lived in a small terraced house (…) it was a little hard to
keep warm, and there was a draught and things like that…besides,
then it was also a good deal smaller than this, I think we had 93 m2,
my wife and I, we had a room, a bedroom, where the wall was, the
bed w as from w all to w all …that’s how small it was (…) and then the
children, they had a communal room. So it sure meant a lot to move
here (…) the children had more space, well, we all had more space,
but the children got a room each, and we got a proper bedroom, a
decent office. So, I’ll say it was in many ways (…) this was just quite
m u c h b e t t e r, b e c a u s e i t ’ s n o t o n l y t h e s p a c e , i t ’ s a l s o t h e h e a t i n g ,
and how comfortable that is, well it also seemed a little more humid,
in relation to how it feels in a new house like this, where you have
the ventilation system which replaces the air all the time, so when it
comes to comfort, it means a lot”
( K a s p e r, 3 5 , 2 0 1 3 )
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Comfort: heating systems and regulation
” ( … ) u n d e r f l o o r h e a t i n g , I w o u l d s a y i t i s l o v e l y, i t i s w o n d e r f u l t o
walk around on the w arm floor, but it, well the radiators, you can
turn them up and then the heat comes in a short while, and the same
way you can turn them down, and it will be registered quickly, that
is what I had to get used to (…) I think it is hard to control”
(Marianne, 69, 2001)
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Comfort: warm clothes and fresh air
“Then you just put on another sw eater and slippers. We’re probably
the types that would rather have fresh air and then put on another
s w e a t e r, b e c a u s e i t s h o u l d n o t b e l i k e s m e l l i n g o f t h e w o o d - s t o v e
and rather not of smoke (…) I would rather go and get another
sweater than not opening the door”
(Helle, late 40s, 1974)
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Thank you for listening
Line Valdorff Madsen
lvm@sbi.aau.dk
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