Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Energy sufficiency, space temperature and public policy Cover

Energy sufficiency, space temperature and public policy

By: Janine Morley  
Open Access
|Jan 2026

References

  1. ARPA-E. (2014). DELTA: Delivering efficient local thermal amenities. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/programs-and-initiatives/view-all-programs/delta
  2. ASHRAE. (2023). Standard 55: Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/standard-55-thermal-environmental-conditions-for-human-occupancy
  3. Association négaWatt. (2024). Manifesto: A resilient and resource-wise Europe: Sufficiency at the heart of the EU’s future. https://www.negawatt.org/Manifeste-pour-la-sobriete-en-Europe?var_mode=calcul
  4. Barrett, J., Pye, S., Betts-Davies, S., Broad, O., Price, J., Eyre, N., Anable, J., Brand, C., Bennett, G., Carr-Whitworth, R., Garvey, A., Giesekam, J., Marsden, G., Norman, J., Oreszczyn, T., Ruyssevelt, P., & Scott, K. (2022). Energy demand reduction options for meeting national zero-emission targets in the United Kingdom. Nature Energy, 7(8), 726735. 10.1038/s41560-022-01057-y
  5. Belsham-Harris, A. (2025, September 16). On the chopping block: Why rising block tariffs aren’t the way forward for energy pricing. We are Citizens Advice. https://wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/on-the-chopping-block-why-rising-block-tariffs-arent-the-way-forward-for-energy-pricing-ba493a2356d5
  6. Bertoldi, P. (2022). Policies for energy conservation and sufficiency: Review of existing policies and recommendations for new and effective policies in OECD countries. Energy and Buildings, 264, 112075. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2022.112075
  7. Betts-Davies, S., Owen, A., Barrett, J., Brockway, P., & Norman, J. (2025). Quantifying the energy and emissions implications of consumption redistribution in the UK through sustainable consumption corridors. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 16499. 10.1038/s41598-025-01495-0
  8. Boerstra, A. C., van Hoof, J., & van Weele, A. M. (2015). A new hybrid thermal comfort guideline for the Netherlands: Background and development. Architectural Science Review, 58(1), 2434. 10.1080/00038628.2014.971702
  9. Bordass, B., Pender, R., Steele, K., & Graham, A. (2025). Learning to sail a building: A people-first approach to retrofit. Buildings & Cities. 10.5334/bc.572
  10. Bouillet, J., & Grandclément, C. (2024). Sufficiency, consumption patterns and limits: A survey of French households. Buildings & Cities. 10.5334/bc.454
  11. Bourgeois, S., Taillard, N., Balembois, E., Toledano, A., Gabert, A., Marignac, Y., Baudelet, F., & Teysset, S. (2023). Climate neutrality, energy security and sustainability: A pathway to bridge the gap through sufficiency, efficiency and renewables. Final report. https://clever-energy-scenario.eu/
  12. Cabeza, L. F., Bai, Q., Bertoldi, P., Kihila, J. M., Lucena, A. F. P., Mata, É., Mirasgedis, S., Novikova, A., & Saheb, Y. (2022). Buildings. In IPCC, 2022: Climate change 2022: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781009157926.011
  13. Cass, N. (2018). Energy-related standards and UK speculative office development. Building Research & Information, 46(6), 615635. 10.1080/09613218.2017.1333351
  14. CEN. (2019). EN 16798-1. Energy performance of buildings—Ventilation of buildings—Part 1: Indoor environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy performance of buildings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics (Module M1–6). European Committee for Standardization (CEN). https://epb.center/document/en-16798-1/
  15. Creutzig, F., Niamir, L., Bai, X., Callaghan, M., Cullen, J., Díaz-José, J., Figueroa, M., Grubler, A., Lamb, W. F., Leip, A., Masanet, E., Mata, É., Mattauch, L., Minx, J. C., Mirasgedis, S., Mulugetta, Y., Nugroho, S. B., Pathak, M., Perkins, P., … Ürge-Vorsatz, D. (2022). Demand-side solutions to climate change mitigation consistent with high levels of well-being. Nature Climate Change, 12(1), 3646. 10.1038/s41558-021-01219-y
  16. Darby, S., & Fawcett, T. (2018). Energy Sufficiency: An introduction. A concept paper for eceee. https://www.energysufficiency.org/libraryresources/library/items/energy-sufficiency-an-introduction/
  17. Di Giulio, A., & Fuchs, D. (2014). Sustainable consumption corridors: Concept, objections, and responses. GAIA—Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 23(3), 184192.
  18. European Commission. (2024). REPowerEU—2 Years on. https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/markets-and-consumers/actions-and-measures-energy-prices/repowereu-2-years_en
  19. Fuchs, D., Sahakian, M., Gumbert, T., Di Giulio, A., Maniates, M., Lorek, S., & Graf, A. (2021). Consumption corridors: Living a good life within sustainable limits. Routledge. 10.4324/9780367748746
  20. Gough, I. (2020). Defining floors and ceilings: The contribution of human needs theory. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 16(1), 208219. 10.1080/15487733.2020.1814033
  21. Grewer, J., Keck, M., & Zscheischler, J. (2024). Different interpretations of sufficiency in climate-protection strategies: A typology based on 40 pioneering municipalities in Germany. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 20(1), 2350216. 10.1080/15487733.2024.2350216
  22. Guilbert, A. (2024). Energy sufficiency and recognition justice: A study of household consumption. Buildings & Cities. 10.5334/bc.458
  23. Hamstead, Z. A. (2023). Critical heat studies: Deconstructing heat studies for climate justice. Planning Theory & Practice, 24(2), 153172. 10.1080/14649357.2023.2201604
  24. Hart, C. (2018). Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination (2nd ed.). SAGE.
  25. IPCC. (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds. H. Lee & J. Romera). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647
  26. Iten, T., Seidl, I., & Pütz, M. (2024). Sufficiency policy: A definition, conceptual framework, and application to municipalities. Sustainability Science, 19(5), 17091734. 10.1007/s11625-024-01534-1
  27. Jaeger-Erben, M., Gram-Hanssen, K., Hansen, A. R., Frąckowiak, M., Guilbert, A., Pluciński, P., Sahakian, M., Wethal, U. B., & Wertheim-Heck, S. (2025). Policies for times of disruptions: How households in Europe dealt with the energy crisis in the winter 2022/2023. Energy Policy, 205, 114711. 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114711
  28. Jungell-Michelsson, J., & Heikkurinen, P. (2022). Sufficiency: A systematic literature review. Ecological Economics, 195, 107380. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107380
  29. Khosla, R., Miranda, N. D., Trotter, P. A., Mazzone, A., Renaldi, R., McElroy, C., Cohen, F., Jani, A., Perera-Salazar, R., & McCulloch, M. (2021). Cooling for sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, 4(3), 201208. 10.1038/s41893-020-00627-w
  30. Lage, J. (2022). Sufficiency and transformation—A semi-systematic literature review of notions of social change in different concepts of sufficiency. Frontiers in Sustainability, 3. 10.3389/frsus.2022.954660
  31. Lehner, M., Richter, J. L., Kreinin, H., Mamut, P., Vadovics, E., Henman, J., Mont, O., & Fuchs, D. (2024). Living smaller: Acceptance, effects and structural factors in the EU. Buildings & Cities. 10.5334/bc.438
  32. Loche, I., Recart, C., Kuijer, L., & Loonen, R. (2025). Integrating residents’ heating practices into energy retrofit decision-making: A sufficiency-oriented approach. Journal of Building Engineering, 112, 113781. 10.1016/j.jobe.2025.113781
  33. Lorek, S., & Spangenberg, J. H. (2019). Energy sufficiency through social innovation in housing. Energy Policy, 126, 287294. 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.11.026
  34. Moser, C., Rösch, A., & Stauffacher, M. (2015). Exploring societal preferences for energy sufficiency measures in Switzerland. Frontiers in Energy Research, 3. 10.3389/fenrg.2015.00040
  35. National Grid ESO. (2023). Future energy scenarios 2023. https://www.nationalgrideso.com/future-energy/future-energy-scenarios
  36. New, K., Tyler, A., Friday, A., Hazas, M., & Gormally, A. (2023). Space temperature policy towards net-zero: Recommendations from a systematic review of UK HEI heating policies. Building Research & Information, 51(2), 223239. 10.1080/09613218.2022.2093694
  37. Ostrom, E. (2010). Beyond markets and states: Polycentric governance of complex economic systems. American Economic Review, 100(3), 641672. 10.1257/aer.100.3.641
  38. Parkinson, T., & de Dear, R. (2015). Thermal pleasure in built environments: physiology of alliesthesia. Building Research & Information, 43(3), 288301. 10.1080/09613218.2015.989662
  39. Parkinson, T., de Dear, R., & Brager, G. (2020). Nudging the adaptive thermal comfort model. Energy and Buildings, 206, 109559. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.109559
  40. Pullinger, M., Berliner, N., Goddard, N., & Shipworth, D. (2022). Domestic heating behaviour and room temperatures: Empirical evidence from Scottish homes. Energy and Buildings, 254, 111509. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111509
  41. Raworth, K. (2018). Doughnut economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. Chelsea Green.
  42. Rinkinen, J., Shove, E., & Marsden, G. (2020). Conceptualising demand: A distinctive approach to consumption and practice. Routledge.
  43. Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S., Lambin, E. F., Lenton, T. M., Scheffer, M., Folke, C., Schellnhuber, H. J., Nykvist, B., de Wit, C. A., Hughes, T., van der Leeuw, S., Rodhe, H., Sörlin, S., Snyder, P. K., Costanza, R., Svedin, U., … Foley, J. A. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461(7263), 472475. 10.1038/461472a
  44. Royston, S., Selby, J., & Shove, E. (2018). Invisible energy policies: A new agenda for energy demand reduction. Energy Policy, 123, 127135. 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.08.052
  45. Sachs, W. (1999). Planet dialectics: Essays on ecology, equity, and the end of development. Zed.
  46. Sahakian, M. (2014). Keeping cool in Southeast Asia: Energy consumption and urban air-conditioning. Springer.
  47. Sahakian, M., Fawcett, T., & Darby, S. (2024). Energy sufficiency in buildings and cities: Current research, future directions. Buildings & Cities. 10.5334/bc.519
  48. Sahakian, M., Rau, H., Grealis, E., Godin, L., Wallenborn, G., Backhaus, J., Friis, F., Genus, A. T., Goggins, G., Heaslip, E., Heiskanen, E., Iskandarova, M., Louise Jensen, C., Laakso, S., Musch, A.-K., Scholl, C., Vadovics, E., Vadovics, K., Vasseur, V., & Fahy, F. (2021). Challenging social norms to recraft practices: A Living Lab approach to reducing household energy use in eight European countries. Energy Research & Social Science, 72, 101881. 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101881
  49. Sahakian, M., & Wilhite, H. (2014). Making practice theory practicable: Towards more sustainable forms of consumption. Journal of Consumer Culture, 14(1), 2544. 10.1177/1469540513505607
  50. Sandberg, M. (2021). Sufficiency transitions: A review of consumption changes for environmental sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 293, 126097. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126097
  51. Santamouris, M., & Vasilakopoulou, K. (2021). Present and future energy consumption of buildings: Challenges and opportunities towards decarbonisation. e-Prime—Advances in Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Energy, 1, 100002. 10.1016/j.prime.2021.100002
  52. Schatzki, T. R. (2002). The site of the social: A philosophical account of the constitution of social life and change. Pennsylvania State University Press.
  53. Sewell, L. (2017). Framework conditions. https://translationpost.com/2017/06/08/rahmenbedingungen-auf-englisch/
  54. Shove, E. (2003). Comfort, cleanliness and convenience: The social organization of normality. Berg.
  55. Shove, E. (2010). Beyond the ABC: Climate change policy and theories of social change. Environment and Planning A, 42, 12731285. 10.1068/a42282
  56. Shove, E., Pantzar, M., & Watson, M. (2012). The dynamics of social practice: Everyday life and how it changes. SAGE.
  57. Shove, E., & Walker, G. (2014). What is energy for? Social practice and energy demand. Theory, Culture & Society, 31(5), 4158. 10.1177/0263276414536746
  58. Sorrell, S., Gatersleben, B., & Druckman, A. (2020). The limits of energy sufficiency: A review of the evidence for rebound effects and negative spillovers from behavioural change. Energy Research & Social Science, 64, 101439. 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101439
  59. Spengler, L. (2016). Two types of ‘enough’: Sufficiency as minimum and maximum. Environmental Politics, 25(5), 921940. 10.1080/09644016.2016.1164355
  60. Strengers, Y., & Maller, C. (2011). Integrating health, housing and energy policies: Social practices of cooling. Building Research & Information, 39, 154168. 10.1080/09613218.2011.562720
  61. Taillard, N., Bourgeois, S., Hadjur, H., & Balembois, É. (2022). Establishment of energy consumption convergence corridors to 2050. Residential sector. https://clever-energy-scenario.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2210-Convergence-corridors-Residential.pdf
  62. Thomas, S., Thema, J., Brischke, L.-A., Leuser, L., Kopatz, M., & Spitzner, M. (2019). Energy sufficiency policy for residential electricity use and per-capita dwelling size. Energy Efficiency, 12(5), 11231149. 10.1007/s12053-018-9727-4
  63. Turver, D. (2024). Cold, hungry, stuck at home: Net zero’s drastic lifestyle changes. https://www.netzerowatch.com/all-news/storage-spats-mask-drastic-net-zero-lifestyle-changes
  64. Van Loy, N., Verbeeck, G., & Knapen, E. (2021). Personal heating in dwellings as an innovatives, energy-sufficient heating practice: A case study research. Sustainability, 13(13). 10.3390/su13137257
  65. van Moeseke, G., De Grave, D., Anciaux, A., Sobczak, J., & Wallenborn, G. (2024). New insights into thermal comfort sufficiency in dwellings. Buildings & Cities, 5(1), 331348. 10.5334/bc.444
  66. Zell-Ziegler, C., Thema, J., Best, B., Wiese, F., Lage, J., Schmidt, A., Toulouse, E., & Stagl, S. (2021). Enough? The role of sufficiency in European energy and climate plans. Energy Policy, 157, 112483. 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112483
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.653 | Journal eISSN: 2632-6655
Language: English
Submitted on: May 29, 2025
|
Accepted on: Dec 22, 2025
|
Published on: Jan 29, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

© 2026 Janine Morley, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.