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Re-configuring practices in times of energy crisis – A case study of Swedish households
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Built Environment, System Transition and Service Innovation. University West, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7597-8359
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Built Environment, Energy and Resources.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3163-7296
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Built Environment, Energy and Resources.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3418-8385
University West, Sweden.
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2024 (English)In: Energy Research & Social Science, ISSN 2214-6296, E-ISSN 2214-6326, Vol. 114, article id 103578Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

During the autumn, winter and early spring of 2022/2023, Europe faced rapidly increasing energy prices and threats of power cuts. The situation was consequently labelled an “energy crisis”, and one sector that was severely affected was households. In response to the situation, European households made efforts to reduce and time-shift their energy use to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Considering that domestic energy practices are often difficult to change, particularly in the long term, we find this effect of the energy crisis on households important to understand more deeply. In this paper, we use social practice theory to investigate how Swedish households responded to the crisis and what changes they made in terms of re-configurations of their practices. The aim was to contribute knowledge on how households adapt to a changing energy system with volatile prices, limitations in electric power, and threats of energy crisis. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 9 households in single-family houses in the middle and south of Sweden during and after the crisis, in total 18 interviews, to examine what re-configurations of practices emerged and which persisted over time. The results show that significant changes were apparent in primarily the practice domains of heating and hygiene. While some of these changes were temporary, other re-configurations of energy practices persisted beyond the months of crisis and high prices, indicating that meanings of frugality and sufficiency were strengthened. Our results demonstrate that households were reminded of certain electricity use that is otherwise typically backgrounded in homes and that the energy crisis stimulated re-configuration and re-examination of norms as well as reflection on electricity use in general. Finally, we discuss the effects of the energy crisis on household practices in comparison with other crises and disruptions, and point to the importance of communicating clearly with households about the societal effects of their efforts, in order to manage the legacy of this crisis for similar future crisis situations. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2024. Vol. 114, article id 103578
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Peace and Conflict Studies Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-73334DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103578Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85193611538OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-73334DiVA, id: diva2:1861514
Note

This research was funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, grant No. P50343-1. 

Available from: 2024-05-28 Created: 2024-05-28 Last updated: 2025-09-23Bibliographically approved

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Björner Brauer, HannaHasselqvist, HannaHåkansson, MariaHiller, Carolina

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