Comparative Evaluation of City Dwellers’ Perspectives on Household Energy Use Based on Housing Tenure: Survey Results from Northern Sweden

The successful implementation of energy efficiency measures in the residential sector will depend to a large extent on the attitudes and perceptions of the end-users since they are the final decision maker. The tenure of the housing could influence the building occupants’ perspectives on energy issues. In this study we conducted a comparative evaluation of perspectives on energy use of three categories of households: those living in single family houses, tenants and owners’ of apartment. The analysis is based on responses to a mail-in questionnaire by approximately 650 residents in Umea, Sweden. Majority of the respondents believed that their annual household energy use is less. Residents in single-family houses, as compared to the other two types of tenure of the housing, were more likely to believe their heat energy use as high and likely to take actions to reduce the energy use. Financial incentives such as subsidy or lower interest rate were preferred by most of single-family homeowners (45%) to motivate them to take actions to reduce energy use. While personalized information to reduce energy use and lower interest rate and reduced rent are preferred by more residents in the other two categories. The implications for promoting energy efficient measures based on housing tenure is discussed.