Urban Fuel Poverty

By Kristian Fabbri

Urban Fuel Poverty describes key approaches to defining and alleviating fuel poverty in cities using a multidisciplinary perspective and multiple case studies. It provides empirical knowledge on the levels and intensities of energy poverty in urban areas, along with new theoretical perspectives in conceptualizing the multidimensionality of energy poverty, with special focus given to the urban environment. Chapters discuss what energy poverty is in terms of taxonomy, stakeholders and affected parties, addressing the role of the economy and energy bills, the role of climate and city factors, the role of buildings, and the health and psychological impact on fuel poverty.

The book addresses how to measure energy poverty, how to map it, and how to draw conclusions based on illness and social indicators. Finally, it explores measures to ‘fight’ fuel poverty, including policy and governance actions, building efficiency improvements and city planning.

• Bridges interdisciplinary divides between policy and economy, cities and buildings, and health and society
• Addresses the physical performance of urban fuel poverty and their effect on thermal comfort and human health
• Provides strategies and policies to mitigate energy and fuel poverty

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Jul 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780128169537

Book preview

Urban Fuel Poverty

Editor

Kristian Fabbri

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Contributors

Biography

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part 1. What is energy fuel poverty

Chapter 1. Fuel poverty definition: from a conceptual review to a more comprehensive definition

1.1. Introduction: the importance of definition

1.2. A review of conceptualisations of energy poverty: exploring definitions, causes and consequences

1.3. Critical reflections on key issues emerging from conceptualization

1.4. Conclusion: advancing toward a more comprehensive conceptualization

Chapter 2. Role of economy and income to fall in energy poverty: policy act

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Housing sector and energy consumption

2.3. Fuel poverty definition and measurement

2.4. Fuel poverty modeling and measurement: the role of income and energy expenditure

2.5. Conclusion

Chapter 3. Role of climate and city pattern

3.1. The climate issue

3.2. The urban issue

3.3. Conclusions

Chapter 4. The role of building in the reduction of fuel poverty

4.1. City and buildings as both cause and effect of Urban Fuel Poverty

4.2. The role of the city and open space

4.3. Building and energy performance

4.4. Building health and comfort

4.5. How to measure it and what actions should be taken

Chapter 5. Health impact of fuel poverty

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Methodological note

5.3. Indoor environments

5.4. Cool waves epidemiology

5.5. Heat waves epidemiology

5.6. Fuel poverty and population at risk in cold and warm situations

5.7. Indoor environment: mental health impact

5.8. Specific epidemiological profiles

5.9. Conclusions – recommendations for healthcare practitioners

Abbreviations

Part 2. How to measure fuel poverty

Chapter 6. Energy poverty indicators

6.1. Why energy poverty is an issue?

6.2. Energy prices, consumption and expenditure

6.3. A survey of energy poverty measures

6.4. Are energy poors also economically-deprived?

Chapter 7. Social and health-related indicators of energy poverty: an England case study

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Definitions of fuel poverty in England

7.3. Alternative approaches to understanding fuel poverty in England

7.4. Identifying the fuel poor in England

7.5. Indicators of fuel poverty risk

7.6. Applying indicators to target households

7.7. What indicators can we use and measure to evaluate fuel poverty interventions?

7.8. Conclusion

Part 3. How to act to tackle it

Chapter 8. Policy action

8.1. Energy efficiency of a building

8.2. Household expenditures

8.3. Proposal of an eligible energy policy

Chapter 9. Cities and buildings efficiency improvement of energy-poor household

9.1. Context and background

9.2. Objectives and drivers of renovation initiatives

9.3. A systemic methodology for supporting renovation actions

9.4. Examples of application

9.5. Final remarks

Chapter 10. Health and social outcomes of housing policies to alleviate fuel poverty

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Consequences of living in fuel poverty and cold homes

10.3. Health and social outcomes of different policies to alleviate fuel poverty

10.4. Health and social outcomes of different housing programs: recent evidence from Wales

10.5. Conclusions and recommendations

Index

Copyright

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Contributors

Fateh Belaid,     Lille Catholic University, Faculty of Management, Economics & Sciences Research Unit - Smart and Sustainable Cities, Lille, France

Vincenzo Condemi,     Department of Biomedical Science for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

Kristian Fabbri,     Department of Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Ivan Faiella,     Banca d'Italia, Rome, Italy

Jacopo Gaspari,     Architectural Technology and Construction Systems, Department of Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Teodoro Georgiadis,     Institute of BioMeteorology, Italian National Research Council, IBIMET-CNR, Bologna, Italy

Massimo Gestro,     Department of Biomedical Science for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

Jiří Karásek,     Department of Construction Management and Economics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Prague, Czech Republic

Luciano Lavecchia,     Banca d'Italia, Rome, Italy

Victoria Pellicer-Sifres

Fundació Las Naves (València)

Ingenio (CSIC – Universitat Politècnica de València)

Jan Pojar,     Department of Construction Management and Economics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Prague, Czech Republic

Wouter Poortinga,     Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom

Jamie-Leigh Ruse,     National Energy Action, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Peter Smith,     National Energy Action, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Helen Stockton,     National Energy Action, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Biography

Architect, consultant in building energy performance, energy services, indoor environmental quality. Adjunct Professor in building physics and building simulation at the University of Bologna. His research interest include human behavior, indoor and outdoor comfort, energy poverty, heritage building, building energy performance. Published several research articles in International Journal and books: K. Fabbri, Indoor thermal comfort perception, M. Pretelli & K. Fabbri, Historic Indoor Microclimate of the Heritage Buildings, S. Piraccini & K. Fabbri, Building a Passive House. Writes poetry and dramas. www.kristianfabbri.com.

Preface

Poverty is a condition that arises from the social and economic context; according to the approach of the sociologist Georg Simmel, among the first to have studied the relationship between the city and society, the condition of poverty is manifested not when there is a condition of privation, but when one receives assistance because one is poor. In a general sense, poverty is present when a single person is not able to live in the same conditions as in the reference social context. Simmel focuses attention on the social figure of the poor person, excluding the material conditions of existence: in a context where the whole of society is in the condition of under-nutrition, no one is considered as poor, while in a condition of abundance of food, whoever is without it, and consequently requires assistance, is identified in the social category of the poor. (Georg Simmel, "Der Arme" Soziologie Untersuchungen uber die Formen der Vergesellschaftung, Berlin, Dunker & Humbolt, 1908). Poverty may be distinguished in absolute poverty, when it is not possible to fulfill the basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, and relative poverty, when referring to a lower amount of the standard levels of the "basic commodities. In this second case the social, economic and – we should additionally include – residential/housing context, can be caused by the climatic condition, where by context we mean, as has been said, the social (networks of relationships) and economic (income) context, to which is added the environmental, climatic and territorial context (urban, rural, etc.). In this environmental context the use of energy – in particular of fossil fuels and devices that allow the transportation, transformation and use of energy – also enter into the category of basic commodities".

The book Urban Fuel Poverty seeks to address the issue of the urban environmental context, in developed countries, where it is possible to check the condition of fuel poverty that depends, in a combined way, on social, economic and environmental factors, with effects on the physical, psychological and social health of the persons in these conditions. We must add to this a further factor that is the invisibility of the problem of fuel poverty; while those persons living in conditions of absolute privation are evident (homeless, people cared for by the social services, etc.), those who do not have sufficient income to pay for energy – as much as would be needed, live in the cold, thus maintaining a social dignity, or, more simply, without believing that feeling "cold" at home for several hours of the day is not a normal condition for everyone. This condition is more common than what has been surveyed by the various social indicators, it is in the cities yet it is, often, invisible.

- How long can we resist without energy – heating, cooling – at home?

Energy is a basic commodity like air, water and food; so Energy/fuel Poverty have an effect on a large part of the population, not only people in economic poverty (the homeless, etc.), because poor people will choose to spend money for food and water instead of for energy (e.g. for heating).

- Energy Poverty and Fuel Poverty

The definition of Energy Poverty as a "situation in which a household has to spend more than one-tenth of its income to pay bills to heat its dwelling to an acceptable standard, based on the levels recommended by the WHO can be applied to different contexts. In particular, it distinguishes between energy poverty when there is difficulty of supply of the renewable energy sources and fuels for producing energy, a phenomenon that is characteristic of developing countries; and fuel poverty" when there is a difficulty or impossibility in paying for energy consumption (energy bills) in a context where there is already an energy infrastructure, and it is a typical phenomenon of developed countries.

The object of this book is "Fuel Poverty" in developed countries, with particular reference to urban contexts, those of cities and metropolitan areas, where the buildings and the urban form, joined with the income of persons and the price of energy, may be the cause of conditions of Urban Fuel Poverty, conditions which, in turn, as has been said, can lead to situations of social deterioration, physical and psychological discomfort and damage to human health.

In the last 20 years researchers and politicians have spent a great deal of resources for studying the phenomenon of energy poverty and fuel poverty, in this book we propose the explanation of its current state of the art and instruments so as to obtain a new perspective.

The objective of this book, delimiting the scope of the research to the Urban context and to Fuel Poverty, is to highlight an overlooked phenomenon that – too often – is "hidden" from the very persons that suffer its consequences, because they are too ashamed to admit to having economic difficulties that make it hard for them to pay their energy bills, but they are not so poor that they require social assistance. While food poverty is evident and there are philanthropic organizations that are working to ensure the minimum level of social assistance, fuel poverty – which involves a wider segment of the population, not only those living in poverty, but also the elderly and pensioners, low-income or single-income families, etc. – risks remaining a hidden problem, or one that is resolved (only) through measures relating to energy tariffs for the poorest.

Urban Fuel Poverty is not only a problem, but it could actually be a New Deal: " fight against fuel poverty " like the Green Economy was a new deal about sustainability in order to reduce global warming.

Should the fight against Urban Fuel Poverty be a new challenge for improving the cities, allowing them to play a new economic and social role?

In my opinion and, I think, also in that of the other authors of the book, the answer is yes, especially if approached in a way that is interdisciplinary, each author with their own competence: economic, sociological, medical and in urban planning.

Contents

In this book, thanks to the contribution of several authors who are experts in diverse disciplines, we have adopted an interdisciplinary approach that aims at providing the reader, as has been said, with an overview of the issues that concern Urban Fuel Poverty; so that the reader with expertise in economics or in policy dynamics can acquire knowledge relating to the characteristics of the buildings or to the health effects resulting from fuel poverty. This interdisciplinary approach allows the person who encounters the problem of Urban Fuel Poverty for the first time to have a complete picture of the various problems, with the aim of addressing all readers interested in the subject, including the stakeholders and decision makers.

This book is for all those who are involved in the resolution of energy poverty problems for developed countries: building designers, politicians, urban planners, energy service enterprises, etc., during their routine business activity, so we have explained energy poverty according to three arguments: what it is, how to measure it and how to act.

The book is divided into three arguments, following a progressive perspective: Part I – What fuel poverty is, Part II – How to measure fuel poverty and Part III – What should be done to tackle it; each part refers to the three topics involving fuel poverty topics:

- policy & economy, defining energy and fuel poverty, the energy poverty indicators and policy action;

- cities & buildings, the role of climate and city patterns, the role of building in regard to fuel poverty, map energy poverty and how to act to deal with cities and buildings for improvement of energy-poor households;

- health & society, about the health impact of fuel poverty, understanding energy poverty through the social and health-related indicators and how to measure for reducing the health and social impact of energy poverty.

While discussing with the Editorial Project Manager the eventuality of a concluding chapter, provided in the first draft, I decided against providing one, because it is not possible to reach a single conclusion on this topic, there is not a sole method able to resolve the problem once and for all. Given the current dynamics of immigration toward western countries, which will affect the social mix of the cities of the "developed world" and the increased risk of demographic stress and therefore of Urban Fuel Poverty, it is necessary to investigate and tackle the problem from the interdisciplinary point of view, each person contributing with his or her own expertise.

Kristian Fabbri

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the Editor, who has offered me the opportunity of systematically dealing with this topic, one that has been particularly dear to me for a long time. I also thank all the Authors who have made themselves available to write with passion and competence, enhancing the content of the book and enriching me personally, to them I say, thank you so much; and, citing Baudelaire, thanks to you the scholar, researcher, professional, reader, "Tu le connais, lecteur, ce monstre délicat, - Hypocrite lecteur, - mon semblable, - mon frère!"

I dedicated all my work to Piera Mainetti

Kristian Fabbri

Part 1

What is energy fuel poverty

Outline

Chapter 1. Fuel poverty definition: from a conceptual review to a more comprehensive definition

Chapter 2. Role of economy and income to fall in energy poverty: policy act

Chapter 3. Role of climate and city pattern

Chapter 4. The role of building in the reduction of fuel poverty

Chapter 5. Health impact of fuel poverty

Chapter 1

Fuel poverty definition

from a conceptual review to a more comprehensive definition

Victoria Pellicer-Sifres ¹ , ²       ¹ Fundació Las Naves (València)      ² Ingenio (CSIC – Universitat Politècnica de València)

Abstract

While the concern for energy poverty has recently been gaining attention in the spheres of academia, politics, and social indignation; the debate on the definition is still open and being revised. This chapter argues that the act of defining energy poverty implicitly implies a political positioning, and it aims to offer elements of reflection as a first step toward a definition more aligned with people's needs and aspirations. To this end, the chapter is divided into three sections. In the first, a review of the concepts of energy/fuel poverty is offered. The second section offers, from a critical perspective, a wider reflection on the use of the terms, on the meanings behind each definition, and on the absence —in the energy poverty debate— of the voices of the people who are affected. The third and final section of the chapter concludes with a suggestion of an alternative and more inclusive definition.

Keywords

Energy poverty; Fuel poverty; Definition; Causes; Consequences

1.1 Introduction: the importance of definition

1.2 A review of conceptualisations of energy poverty: exploring definitions, causes and consequences

1.3 Critical reflections on key issues emerging from conceptualization

1.3.1 Why words matter? Different terms, different meanings

1.3.2 Why definitions matter? The importance of mentioning causes and consequences

1.3.3 Why the voices of affected people matter

1.4 Conclusion: advancing toward a more comprehensive conceptualization

References

1.1. Introduction: the importance of definition

The concern for energy poverty has recently been gaining attention in the spheres of academia, politics, and social indignation throughout the various countries of Europe (Bouzarovski, 2014). To a greater or lesser extent, all these spheres look at, and take as a reference, the work that has been carried out for more than 25 years in the United Kingdom, where the phenomenon of fuel—or energy—poverty has been researched from different angles. A wide range of research has been undertaken to reflect on the definition of fuel poverty (Moore, 2012; Thomson et al., 2016), its measurement (Hills, 2012; Liddell et al., 2012), the impact on people's daily lives (Anderson et al., 2012; Brunner et al., 2012), and policies to combat it (Bouzarovski et al., 2012; Middlemiss et al., 2018).

The debate on this definition is still open and being revised. In fact, according to Thomson et al. (2016: 9), just four of the twenty-eight EU countries currently have an official definition of fuel poverty (the United Kingdom, France, the Republic of Ireland, and more recently, Slovakia), nor does the European Union have its own definition.

Be that as it may, the fact is that awareness of energy poverty is growing rapidly across Europe. Consequently, the issue is being increasingly integrated within the activities of the European Union, as evidenced by the new European energy legislative framework "Clean Energy for All Europeans package", published in 2018. Furthermore, another example of this trend was the launch of the European Union Energy Poverty Observatory, in January 2018 (EPOV, 2018), which stands out as an important action to encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration between policymakers, practitioners and academics in this field all over Europe.

Thus, it could be considered that the present time is a key moment to firmly position the concept of energy poverty in European political agendas, especially in those countries that have recently awakened and have demonstrated a willingness to combat energy poverty. At the same time, it is important to undertake this endeavor with a conscious reflection about which terms are used and about what information is provided in this definition, since, as Day et al. (2016: 261) highlight:

Different definitions of energy poverty draw on different understandings of its causes, and thereby point to different sites of intervention.

Defining is adopting a position, explicitly or implicitly, on which is our interpretation of the phenomenon that we are explaining. Defining means, therefore, prioritizing. It entails focusing on just some specific threats from the multiple characteristics that constitute the nature of that phenomenon. When highlighting particular characteristics, others remain hidden. Thus, in the author's point of view, the act of defining energy poverty implicitly implies a political positioning. This chapter aims to offer elements of reflection regarding all of this.

To this end, the chapter is divided into three sections. In the first, a review of the concepts of energy/fuel poverty is offered. As Thomson et al. (2016) mention, there is inconsistent use of the terminology, with the terms ‘energy poverty’ and ‘fuel poverty’ often being used interchangeably, although they can be treated as distinct terms. In this first part, the chapter opts to use both terms interchangeably, making no distinction between the terms ‘energy’ and ‘fuel’, given the widespread acceptance of both. The second section of the chapter offers, from a critical perspective, a wider reflection on the use of the terms. This is structured into three parts: a reflection on the terms used, a reflection on the meanings behind each definition, and a reflection on the absence—in the energy poverty debate—of the voices of the people who are affected. The third and final section of the chapter concludes with a suggestion of an alternative and more inclusive definition.

1.2. A review of conceptualisations of energy poverty: exploring definitions, causes and consequences

This section presents how energy poverty is being defined, what are recognized as its most common causes, and what its main consequences are:

Regarding the definition, energy poverty was first defined by Brenda Boardman (1991) in the United Kingdom to cover "households whose fuel expenditure on all energy services exceeded 10% of their income". Household energy costs destined to other uses, such as transport, were excluded from the analysis.

That mainstream definition has evolved in recent decades; first, the element temperature was included:

Inability [for a home] to satisfy [at home] an adequate housing thermal regime (21°C in the living room and 18°C in the rest of the rooms, proposed by the World Health Organisation) to an adequate amount of energy services for 10% of disposable income.

BEER

Later, instead of solely focusing on temperature, it evolved toward energy services:

Fuel poverty occurs when households have insufficient funds to pay for the most basic levels of energy needed to provide them with heating, lighting, cooking, and appliance use.

Boardman (2010)

More recently, Bouzarovski and Petrova (2015) have made a relevant contribution in two aspects: first, arguing that the terms energy poverty and fuel poverty can be understood as meaning the same thing. They state that all forms of fuel and energy poverty, in both developed and developing countries, are underpinned by a common condition: "the inability to attain a socially and materially necessitated level of domestic energy services (Bouzarovski and Petrova, 2015: 31). Second, they bring the notion of vulnerability to the energy debate. In essence, energy vulnerability thinking is probabilistic: it highlights the factors that affect the likelihood of becoming poor" (Bouzarovski and Petrova, 2015: 35).

One other novel proposal in terms of definition is that recently proposed by Day et al. (2016) using the Capability Approach.

Energy poverty can be positioned as an inability to realise essential capabilities as a direct or indirect result of insufficient access to affordable, reliable and safe energy services, and taking into account available reasonable alternative means of realising these capabilities.

Under the Capability Approach (Sen, 1993; Nussbaum, 2000), capabilities are considered as the real opportunities that people have, in order to live the life they have reasons to value. In this sense, energy poverty interventions should be oriented in order to expand people's capabilities that currently are being limited by their domestic energy deprivation. This new definition makes an interesting contribution, arguing that "such an understanding provides a theoretical coherent means of comprehending the relationship between energy and wellbeing" (Day et al., 2016:255). Recently new publications, such as the author's previous work (Pellicer-Sifres, 2018) or Willand and Horne (2018), have contributed to this debate on energy poverty and the Capability Approach.

Regarding the causes, the literature widely recognizes fuel poverty as the result of a combination of poor and inefficient equipment and building materials, high energy costs, and low household income; however, these three causes have hardly been discussed or questioned in fuel poverty debates. Nevertheless, additional contributory factors have been included, such as: above average energy needs, perhaps as a consequence of disability (Snell et al., 2015); absence of savings and living in rented accommodation, which limit an occupant's opportunities to improve their dwelling (Boardman, 2010); or tenancy relations and social relations within and outside the household (Middlemiss and Guillard, 2015).

In terms of causes, again the contribution of Bouzarovski and Petrova (2015) has been relevant in order to broaden the spectrum of potential causes. Apart from the three most widespread causes mentioned above, they suggested additional factors that contribute to the likelihood of experiencing an inadequate level of energy (socially and materially) in the home. These factors are listed below in Table 1.1:

Table 1.1

Adapted from Bouzarovski and Petrova (2015).

The proposal of these causes as driving forces reinforces many studies on energy poverty that have insisted on demonstrating that there is a broad range of systemic circumstances, both internal and external to households, that lead to the emergence of energy poverty.

Finally, regarding the main consequences of energy poverty, there are several studies exploring this issue, especially from the perspective of health and psychology. The results of one of the first European projects on energy poverty (EPEE, 2006) to research the causes and consequences of fuel poverty in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, summarized fuel poverty consequences as follows:

• Risks and impacts on physical health (respiratory problems, risk of accident because of fire or poisoning due to carbon monoxide).

• Risks and impacts on mental health: anxiety, isolation, social exclusion, loss of self-esteem.

• Degradation of housing.

• Excessive debt accumulation (the payment of high bills of energy supply limits being able to cope with other necessities such as food and transportation).

• Higher CO2 emissions.

Most of the existing research on energy poverty has evaluated how energy poverty negatively impacts upon people's quality of life. Fundamentally, it has mainly focused on the impact on people's health, both physical (respiratory problems, risk of accident or poisoning) and mental (anxiety, isolation, social exclusion) (Boardman, 2012; Liddell and Morris, 2010; EPEE, 2006; for a more extended review see Marmot et al., 2011). A small body of theoretical work (Bouzarovski and Petrova, 2015; Sovacool and Dworkin, 2015; Bouzarovski and Cauvain, 2016; Simcock et al., 2016; Walker and Day, 2012) has recently outlined the concern that energy poverty hinders people from having a minimally-decent quality of life, that is to say, energy poverty affects people's well-being.

Other investigations contribute to this debate by focusing on a particular group of people, for example: Butler and Sherriff (2017) explored fuel poverty consequences on young adult households; O’neill et al. (2006) on older women; Snell et al. (2015) on disabled people, or Bouzarovski and Cauvain (2016) on multiple occupancy houses.

To conclude this first part, the recent EU Energy Poverty Observatory's definition (EPOV, 2018) is presented, as a means of summarizing all the ideas mentioned in this section. In the author's point of view, this is an appropriate definition, since the reader can find within it allusions to both causes and consequences, as well as to possible policies to tackle energy poverty.

"Energy poverty is a distinct form of poverty associated with a range of adverse consequences for people's health and wellbeing – with respiratory and cardiac illnesses, and mental health, exacerbated due to low temperatures and stress associated with unaffordable energy bills. In fact, energy poverty has an indirect effect on many policy areas – including health, environment and productivity. Addressing energy poverty has the potential to bring multiple benefits, including less money spent by governments on health, reduced air pollution, better comfort and wellbeing, improved household budgets, and increased economic activity.

EPOV, 2018

The next section presents a critical reflection on the mainstream concepts and definitions exposed above.

1.3. Critical reflections on key issues emerging from conceptualization

As explained in the previous section, the definition of energy poverty has evolved during recent decades. However, despite the evolution in the nomenclature and definition, in the great majority of cases the key concepts in the definitions continue to be low temperature, low household income, or insufficient services and energy sources. As has been illustrated, only a handful of studies offer a normative standpoint, and they link energy poverty with energy (in)justice issues. As Walker and Day (2012: 69) remark:

Addressing fuel poverty has to involve seeking justice in terms of the cultural and political recognition of vulnerable and marginalised social groups and pursuing procedural justice through opening up involvement and influence in decision-making processes.

The issue emerging here is obvious: the definition in not neutral. When defining fuel poverty, we select ideas from among a broad spectrum of issues. We select those ideas we consider