Towards a better understanding of energy poverty

Dunphy, Niall P.; Lennon, Breffní; Velasco-Herrejón,  Paola

Towards a better understanding of energy poverty

cbnd

Files

10.4324_9781003408536-27_chapterpdf.pdf(430.5 KB)

Published version

Date

2023-12-01

Authors

Dunphy, Niall P.

Lennon, Breffní

Velasco-Herrejón, Paola

Publisher

Routledge

Published Version

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003408536-27

Abstract

Energy poverty can manifest itself in households unable, for reasons of access and/or affordability, to source clean energy for necessities such as heat, light, cooling, cooking, and appliance use, or having to use an excessive portion of their disposable income to provide these essentials. Developing more effective responses to this social challenge necessitates a deeper appreciation of energy poverty and the different ways in which it manifests. While there has been some arguing for the importance of appreciating the lived experience of the energy poor, much of the literature on energy poverty has tended to be quantitative in nature. Work within the EnergyMeasures project identified a gap between the macro- and meso-level analysis of energy poverty and the identification of individual energy poor households. Energy poverty is fundamentally a human condition. The various definitions of energy poverty speak of people being unable to access or afford sufficient energy to meet their basic service needs.

Keywords

Engineering and technology , Sustainable development , Energy policy and economics , Power and energy , Energy policy , Energy , Built environment , Global development , Regulatory policy , Politics and international relations , Energy poverty

Citation

Dunphy, N.P., Lennon, B. and Velasco-Herrejón, P. (2023) ‘Towards a better understanding of energy poverty’, in P. V. Herrejón, B. Lennon, and N. P. Dunphy (eds)., Living with Energy Poverty. 1st edn. London: Routledge, pp. 275–281. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003408536-27