Researching on energy-consumption practices: Adding social interactions and geographical characteristics to the social theories of practice

Social theories of practice are more and more used as conceptual framework in studies on energy consumption. These theories are first summarized in this paper. The main part of the paper draws on several empirical studies using the practice approach and done in several countries by different authors. Depending on the practice(s) studied, it may be useful to add to the conceptual framework some geographical or environmental characteristics as they are locally interpreted (e.g. climate for heating and/or ventilating practices). Several empirical studies also show the relevance of including social interactions – within the family, the enterprise, the multi-apartment building, the neighbourhood and so forth – into the conceptual framework derived from the social theories of practices, to take into account the rearticulating role of social interactions and the power claims when carrying a practice or a set of practices, and when changing it/them