Qualitative classification of energy consuming habits of young home occupants

Two main strategies have generally been used for tackling energy reduction: one dealing with the design and development of building systems and appliances that are engineered to be as efficient as possible while meeting standards, the other addressing the user, usually through campaigns, advertisements, or physical interventions, with the expectation of changing behaviours into more sustainable ones [1]. Nevertheless, behavioural change and energy savings through such approaches has not been decisively achieved, presumably due to the intangibility of both the end results, which are health, comfort, and energy savings, and to the fact that generally, the home environment and the energy consuming products within are not designed to support the occupants’ cognitions and behaviours [2, 3]. In recent years, it has been shown that occupants’ “habits” are the main culprit behind inflated home energy usage [4]. Habits are particular types of behaviour that due to their unconsciousness and automaticity, have been understudied. Habits are particular types of behavior that due to their unconsciousness and automaticity, have been understudied [5, 6]. Based on psychological and behavioral research, habits are cue and context dependent behaviors, which happen automatically and unconsciously, that are learned through the obtention of a reward, achieved by the habit itself [7]. Therefore, habits are forged by the need of controlling and obtaining rewards, achieved through a behavior –the habit itself- and that is triggered by an environmental cue. As the behavior becomes more frequent, and automatic, it becomes a habit.