When We Do Nothing at All? : Understanding Energy Consumption in Norwegian Households

Abstract

On background of the framework of Sustianability, this thesis aims at understanding Energy consumption in households, and uses the example of Norway as having three times higher electricity consumption per capita than the OECD average. The work is inspired by interdisciplinarity and thus makes use of several approaches. The main methodological tool is in-depth interviews, conducted with 19 households. Two main analytical windows is chosen to understand the field, hereunder everyday life and household technologies (washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers). Theoretically, the thesis makes use of Pierre Bourdieu and the concept of habitus, Marianne Gullestads sociological writings on everyday life, as well as applying Actor-Network theory (Bruno Latour) and Domestication (Roger Silverstone) to looking at the processes of interaction between users and household technologies. However, the various approaches are fused by a focus on practice. The work argues that in the everyday life practices that together form the amount of energy use in households, people are not guided by the directly reflexive processes of thinking about rationality, economy and sustainability but rather by routines and habits within the semi-conscious domain of habitus. Moreover, an important finding is the aspect that we cannot predict the cosnequences of a technology. When working with the notion that for example installing a more energy efficient washing machine will lead to an decrease in energy consumption, we need to also pay attention to the concrete practices of use.