Challenges and opportunities of households’ thermal energy security: An empirical study in the time of energy crisis

Abstract

The ongoing energy crisis affects the European energy system, its transition towards sustainability and different actors, particularly households. This study aims to investigate how households perceive the energy crisis, which strategies they have adopted to mitigate its impact, and to what extent they consider these strategies effective. The main challenges of the (thermal) energy systems during the energy crisis are structured through the 4 A's energy security concepts as follows: (i) Economic Challenges (Energy Affordability), (ii) Techno-physical Challenges (Energy Availability), (iii) Information and skills Challenges (Energy Acceptability) and (iv) Infrastructural Challenges (Energy Accessibility). Two interactive workshops with 17 highly educated households from the Netherlands took place to collect data on these challenges. The results delineate that the participants mostly faced and were frustrated by economic, and information and skills challenges, while they also found them the easiest ones to solve. Furthermore, grid congestion and monopoly of companies are the main issues related to techno-physical and infrastructural challenges. The participants indicated that energy efficiency measures and local renewable energy systems are the best strategies for the local thermal energy transition. The findings contribute to understanding the households’ perception and strategies related to their energy security. Considering the challenges the energy crisis imposes, the study sheds light on facilitating local thermal energy transition and provides detailed discussions and recommendations.