Isaura Bonneux , Herbert Peremans , Steven Van Passel
{"title":"Exploring district heating and cooling cultures, a systematic literature review","authors":"Isaura Bonneux , Herbert Peremans , Steven Van Passel","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104340","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>District heating and cooling (DHC) is increasingly recognized as a viable technology to move away from fossil fuels for heating and cooling in dense urban areas. Due to its complexity as a large-scale technical system, research on DHC has predominantly focused on enhancing energy efficiency. This is often the case for energy transition policies aiming at increasing sustainability; they predominantly emphasize technological solutions, often neglecting broader societal and economic contexts. Nonetheless, recent research efforts have showed how social and technological aspects are inseparable. Within the DHC context too, there have been studies looking more closely into the social aspects. However, these efforts are scattered across both the technological and social literature. Therefore, this systematic review advances efforts to integrate social and technological perspectives in DHC research. Building on the Energy Cultures Framework (ECF), this literature review describes DHC cultures and identifies the factors that influence beliefs and actions regarding DHC. Based on the results, we identify the ownership model of the DHC network, aims and expectations, and citizen engagement as the three dominating factors that determine DHC cultures. Further, we add social networks to the ECF and clarify how it is a mediating factor in the ECF and helps to understand and change attitudes and actions regarding DHC. This review provides a more holistic perspective on DHC adoption, by looking beyond solely technological features and emphasizing these social dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 104340"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy Research & Social Science","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629625004219","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
District heating and cooling (DHC) is increasingly recognized as a viable technology to move away from fossil fuels for heating and cooling in dense urban areas. Due to its complexity as a large-scale technical system, research on DHC has predominantly focused on enhancing energy efficiency. This is often the case for energy transition policies aiming at increasing sustainability; they predominantly emphasize technological solutions, often neglecting broader societal and economic contexts. Nonetheless, recent research efforts have showed how social and technological aspects are inseparable. Within the DHC context too, there have been studies looking more closely into the social aspects. However, these efforts are scattered across both the technological and social literature. Therefore, this systematic review advances efforts to integrate social and technological perspectives in DHC research. Building on the Energy Cultures Framework (ECF), this literature review describes DHC cultures and identifies the factors that influence beliefs and actions regarding DHC. Based on the results, we identify the ownership model of the DHC network, aims and expectations, and citizen engagement as the three dominating factors that determine DHC cultures. Further, we add social networks to the ECF and clarify how it is a mediating factor in the ECF and helps to understand and change attitudes and actions regarding DHC. This review provides a more holistic perspective on DHC adoption, by looking beyond solely technological features and emphasizing these social dynamics.
期刊介绍:
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies - on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is relevant for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers.
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum to discuss how social and technical issues related to energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involves the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis, therefore, needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.