Individual and household interactions with energy systems: Toward integrated understanding

This paper argues for the value of developing an integrated, trans-disciplinary science of human-energy interactions and suggests that Energy Research & Social Science can provide a space for further development of this science. It sketches this intellectual domain and then focuses on that part of it that encompasses interactions of individuals and households with energy systems. It considers the roles of these actors as energy consumers, as citizens who may influence the development and regulation of energy systems, as energy producers, as participants in organizations and institutions, and as parties affected by energy systems. The paper shows, in each case, that single disciplines rarely provide the depth of knowledge that is desirable for understanding or influencing individual and household interactions with energy systems and that integration of knowledge and insights from multiple disciplines is required. It also suggests some promising research directions.