Life styles and domestic energy consumption: a pilot study

Abstract The contribution of households to CO 2 production is still increasing. To alter patterns of energy consumption for example with respect to commuter traffic, using the freezer, and warming the house, changing life styles related to domestic energy con- sumption is considered. In our study, we have operationalized life style as means-end chains , that link perceived benefits of a particular behavior to basic values that people pursue. In this paper, preliminary results are presented of the study that is aimed at empirically establishing the feasibility of the concept of life style in relation to domestic energy consumption.