Double energy vulnerabilities in France: When residential choices lock households into patterns of energy dependence

Abstract

This paper focuses on households' choice of a new home to study how patterns of energy dependence are being embedded in everyday lives in the wake of the 2022 energy crisis in Europe. It highlights inequalities in exposure to and protection from rising energy prices, both in domestic and transport energy needs.

Drawing upon conceptual work around double energy vulnerability and residential mobility and a large survey of households that moved in the South-West of France, we analyse the socioeconomic determinants of energy drivers in the choice of a new home. We elaborate a typology of households based on the importance of energy efficiency and mobility costs. The findings reveal that energy concerns, including efficiency and proximity, play a crucial role in residential decision-making. We show how life cycles are determinant in households' preoccupations with energy, but also how income, wealth and homeownership shape residential choices and strategies, determining control over energy costs. Indeed, lower-income households are more associated with a greater concern with mobility and energy efficiency, while wealthier households can offset rising costs with thermal retrofits and mitigate the financial burden of distance.

We argue for expanding double energy vulnerability approaches to considering, within a wider social spectrum, both the adaptive capacity of middle- and high-income households, and the determining role of housing costs. These results highlight the need for policies addressing both energy affordability and sustainable consumption, balancing energy retrofits with measures to control housing costs and prevent increased consumption among wealthier households.