Abstract
The aim of this paper is to define the factors influencing the level of energy poverty among students. The analysis of these factors is based on the results of a survey conducted among a group of 937 students at the Cracow University of Economics. The study takes into consideration the changes in the attitudes and behavior of students resulting from the introduction of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The switch to distance learning resulted in a significant increase in the number of responses related to feeling ill or sick due to inadequate temperature (from 24% before a lockdown to 32% after the introduction of a lockdown). Students experienced temporary surges in their overall living costs due to the pandemic, especially during the first wave. The respondents who experienced inappropriate temperatures (inadequate heating) due to excessive costs felt ill or became sick more often than others. The study demonstrated that those who pay more for energy (defined as a surplus payment in excess of 10%) tended to be, on average, less energy-aware than others. The following indicators of energy poverty among the students were distinguished: high living costs, small degree of influence over the choice of living quarters, as well as concerns over energy efficiency and environment. The conclusions drawn from the conducted studies may be utilized to design public policies aimed at curtailing the phenomenon of energy poverty among students. This issue is particularly prominent in large urban agglomerations where the costs of living are high and result in the feeling of pressure regarding the need to save money on thermal energy consumption.
Highlights
The latest studies in the field of energy poverty among students realized on a research sample of more than 3500 students in 7 different European countries [1] indicate that students are an under-reported and under-supported group of the wider population and they frequently live in energy poverty
The analysis was centered around the prospective determinants of energy poverty among students in Krakow (PL) and how, or if, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed energy poverty among students
We found that those students that pay relatively more for energy:
Summary
The latest studies in the field of energy poverty among students realized on a research sample of more than 3500 students in 7 different European countries [1] indicate that students are an under-reported and under-supported group of the wider population and they frequently live in energy poverty. Students are frequently unaware that they are living in energy poverty and about the fact that they are a group exposed to this phenomenon [2]. Energy poverty may be a major factor in determining the educational success of students. The need to introduce policy aimed at reducing energy poverty concerns the entire region because, according to estimates, on average over 23% of the Central and Eastern European population is exposed to hidden energy poverty [6]. The research results presented in this paper are based on, among other things, the comparative analysis of the opinions of students from before and after the introduction of distance learning, which enabled us to define the observable consequences of lockdown regarding energy poverty
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