Hot (water) topics: the formation of an energy issue at home

Panel: 9. Consumption and behaviour

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Wiktoria Glad, Linköping University, Sweden
Bodil Axelsson, Linköping University, Sweden
Josefine Höijer, Museum of Work, Sweden

Abstract

Domestic use of hot water has been identified as an urgent energy issue to address. However, the proposed policy interventions in Sweden has been cancelled and pilot projects that focused on hot water has been postponed. Still, on the local level and for property owners, residential energy and water use remain hot topics. In this paper, results from focus group interviews, with both residents and professionals, are presented. Results show that hot tap water use is differently shaped depending on whether you are a user or a service provider. One thing in common was that in the focus groups it was difficult to separate hot tap water use from water use in general. Hot tap water use was not distinguished from use of cold tap water. To explore the issue further, the research on hot water was taken to residents’ homes and by more in depth qualitative methods by an artist, a formation process started. Residents started to share more detailed stories about how they lived their everyday life in kitchens and bathrooms. These stories contain memories of their childhood and how experiences from the past have shaped their water use and consequently their energy behaviour. The formation of this topic continued and in the artist’s interpretation of the data, three different artefacts became important: the sink, the tub and the toilet. These artefacts were placed in a river in the centre of a city as part of an audio walk with voices from the residents talking about their use of water. The exhibition was available during summer 2016 and the audio walk with the voices are planned to be reused and part of an exhibition in 2017.