The Economic Effects of New Patterns of Energy Efficiency and Heat Sources in Rural Single-Family Houses in Poland

In the face of severe air pollution and implementation of energy and climate policy, it remains a challenge to develop effective strategies addressing the problem of solid fuels use in single-family houses (SFH) in rural areas in Poland. This study investigated the correlations between thermal modernization of SFH, the changes of heat sources from coal to clean energy, including heat pumps driven by prosumers’ photovoltaic (PV) installation, and the disposable income of households in Polish rural areas. It also provided an analysis of the current support mechanisms promoting energy efficiency and PV development. The application of simulation modelling of energy consumption and costs in the research has proved that comprehensive thermal modernization of rural SFH constructed in the period of 1945–1970 and investments supporting PV/heat pump systems would enable the most cost-effective way of heating to be implemented. Considering that, today, spending on energy for heat puts a burden on the budget of rural households, especially those living in the SFH aged 50 years and more that dominate rural areas in Poland, the changes in energy supply–demand patterns would be an enhancement of their economic, energy and environmental security. The research argued that, in the wider process of energy transformation and solving air pollution problems, the role of rural households should not be neglected in public policy.