Towards a fuel poverty definition for Spain

Abstract

During the last years, an increasing interest has been developed so as to address the problem of fuel poverty which is already affecting a huge number of European citizens. In 2013, the European Parliament has claimed to the Commission and State Members through several resolutions, the legislative development of policies in order to tackle energy vulnerability of households. In 2000 the UK Government, through the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act, established that a person could be regarded as fuel poor if he is a member of a household that cannot get warmth at a reasonable cost.

Nevertheless, in order to establish the incidence of fuel poverty among Spanish households, it must be understood which should be the adequate thresholds for indoor temperatures. The
research here presented proposes new indoor temperature thresholds for fuel poor households based on adaptive comfort models.