Social Dimensions of Sustainable Household Energy Consumption
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 2632
Special Issue Editors
Interests: energy use; environment protection; rural sociology; social integration; project sociology; social inequality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: energy use; effects of climate change; rural development; social capital; biodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Over the last decade, research on sustainable energy consumption at the household level has undergone a profound transformation. What was once a field dominated by technical efficiency solutions and narrowly framed behavioural interventions has evolved into a multidisciplinary endeavour that acknowledges the deeply social nature of energy use. As Mengolini et al. (2016) observe, the focus has shifted from targeting isolated individuals toward inclusive, community-centred strategies that recognize consumers as part of broader socio-economic networks.
Participatory approaches now play a central role, leveraging community trust, shared values, and local organizational knowledge to foster collective action toward common energy goals. Engagement strategies increasingly go beyond economic incentives and consumption feedback, embedding energy-saving behaviour within wider social and cultural contexts. In parallel, the research agenda has broadened to explore household energy within sharing and circular economy frameworks, integrating new technologies—such as smart meters, demand-side management, and distributed energy resources—with socially grounded initiatives like community energy schemes.
This social turn is also reflected in the rise of critical perspectives on energy poverty and energy justice, alongside a growing interest in energy literacy, intention, perception, and values as key drivers of household decision-making. Climate change discourse has reinforced this trend, with more studies addressing how peer influence, social awareness, and community engagement can reshape energy practices.
For this Special Issue, we invite contributions that explore the social dimensions of sustainable household energy consumption. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
We welcome empirical and methodological papers, as well as theoretically grounded policy analyses and interdisciplinary case studies, that illuminate how social factors shape and are shaped by sustainable energy consumption at the household level.
Prof. Dr. Imre Kovách
Prof. Dr. Boldizsár Megyesi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- household energy behaviour and its social, cultural, and demographic determinants
- socially informed feedback mechanisms and behavioural interventions
- equity, affordability, and energy justice in household energy transitions
- governance, policy instruments, and their social acceptance
- community energy systems, prosumerism, and local engagement
- social acceptance, trust, and privacy in smart metering and dynamic pricing
- decision-making and social impacts in building retrofits and appliance adoption
- lifestyle and adoption barriers in the electrification of transport and heating
- digitalisation, IoT, and automated control from a social usability perspective
- the rebound effect and its behavioural underpinnings
- intersections of household energy with food, diet, and broader consumption footprints
- social participation in demand response and flexibility schemes
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