2015
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 662, 2015
Department of Thematic Studies – Technology and Social Change Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
www.liu.se
Energy Use as a
Consequence of Everyday Life
Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 662
Mattias Hellgr
en
Ener
gy Use as a Consequence of Everyday Lif
e
Energy use is a part of everyday life and the use of energy is a part of global climate change. Policy makers urge individuals to change their daily behaviour in order to help saving our common environ-ment.
This study investigates individuals’ energy use as an outcome of their activities performed in everyday life. The theoretical base is the time-geographic approach wherein everyday life is regarded as a sequence of interlinked activities.
The sequences of activities are explored using sequence analy-sis and clustering. The results show that individuals’ energy use is closely interweaved with how they live their everyday lives. This may matter more than who they are in regards to their opportuni-ties to make changes towards a more sustainable living. It implies change not only of singular activities but rather of major parts of the sequence of activities in their daily life.
Mattias Hellgren is a researcher at the Department of Thematic Studies – Technology and Social Change at Linköping University. This is his Ph.D. thesis.
