Understanding the Lived Experience of Summer Energy Poverty through Participatory Action Research

Resumen

The study and characterisation of Summer Energy Poverty (SEP) have become more relevant in recent years. For those Southern European countries, SEP has shifted from being an overlooked issue to a concerning subject on political agendas.

A shared limitation within the studies, focused on the measurement of energy poverty, is the lack of data, which is even worse when regarding the available data to characterise the problem during summertime. Indoor heat stress and the strategies to adapt may be influenced by subjectivity: outside spaces could be used as climate shelters, and traditional solutions could be used instead of air conditioning systems. SEP could, therefore, be further characterised by the collective and individual experience.

Qualitative research methods can deepen our understanding of users' lived experience and allow researchers to overcome the lack of available data. Regarding techniques focused on studying the collective lived experience, focus groups and participatory action research experiences were conducted already to study energy poverty in communities. However, these techniques have not been applied to the study of SEP.

Within the European Project, COOLTORISE, workshops for vulnerable households combining focus groups and participatory action research were conducted during the summer of 2022. Individual and collective strategies were explored using a new participatory methodology that allowed people to access shared knowledge more easily than in common academic focus groups.