Abstract
The objective of this study is to describe and assess a methodology based on a time geographical approach for studying energy and water use in households. Energy and water resources are often used in routinized activities, and in activities considered as private, normal and ordinary, which makes them difficult to explore in research. In this article, we give an account of a mixed-methods approach using time diaries, metering data, interviews and simple observations, and analyse and discuss its methodological and empirical implications from two Swedish case studies. We conclude that the suggested combination of methods, despite some complications, provides a comprehensive account of household energy and water use to which various theoretical perspectives could apply. Energy and water using activities are defined in terms of time, place, quantity, material and social context, and are related to user perspectives on resource use and usage data. Such knowledge provides important input for information campaigns, technological retrofitting and other systemic changes in striving towards sustainability.
Highlights
A key to sustainable development is to reduce the use of natural resources (UN 2015)
To understand how to approach the household use of energy and water, it is important to understand the complicated interaction between individual everyday life activities, socio-cultural norms, social negotiations, gender roles, economic constraints, technological systems and buildings, etc
Research aiming to investigate and understand the household use of energy and water resources relies on few data collecting methods and often presents aggregated, estimated, modelled or simulated individual behaviour (Widén et al 2009; Willis et al 2011; Hellgren 2015)
Summary
A key to sustainable development is to reduce the use of natural resources (UN 2015). To understand how to approach the household use of energy and water, it is important to understand the complicated interaction between individual everyday life activities, socio-cultural norms, social negotiations, gender roles, economic constraints, technological systems and buildings, etc. Research aiming to investigate and understand the household use of energy and water resources relies on few data collecting methods and often presents aggregated, estimated, modelled or simulated individual behaviour (Widén et al 2009; Willis et al 2011; Hellgren 2015). The socio-cultural norms are powerful when it comes to defining individual needs and wants It is the social aspects, for example our ideas of a good life, norms, regulations and values, and the negotiations taking place around them, that affect which activities are prioritized and how time-space is arranged to enable their execution (Hägerstrand 1985, 323-324).
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