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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATIONS
174
J. PARAVANTIS
Bouzarovski,
26
the percentage of fuel poverty in Greece is near to 36%, while accord-
ing to Thomson and Snell
27
it is between 16 and 17%. Eurostat
28
mentions that almost
20% of the population lives in low-income housing, while Böhnke
29
reports that al-
most 28% of the population lives in houses with leaking windows; it is also reported
that 26% of the low-income population in Greece cannot afford to pay for heating,
with a national average close to 8%. Various fuel poverty studies have classified low-
income households into groups. For example, four types of households have been iden-
tified in Austria (the “overcharged”, the “modest fuel poor”, the “modest non-fuel
poor” and those “on a low income”)
30
with similar results obtained in France.
31
Santamouris et al.
32
collected and analyzed energy consumption data for 598 house-
holds in Greece for the winters of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Although the latter win-
ter was harsher, households consumed 37% less energy than expected. Cluster analysis
rendered two clusters: three quarters of the households belonged to the lower-income
group that lived in smaller spaces, had half the income, and consumed more specif-
ic energy (i.e. kWh per square meter) compared to the high-income group (although
much less than expected based on the degree-hours of the second winter). One out of
three higher-income and one out of four lower-income households adopted some con-
servation measures after the first winter while 2% of the higher-income and 14% of
the lower-income households were below the fuel poverty threshold.
In a study focusing on 50 low- and very-low-income dwellings in Athens, Santamouris
et al.
33
measured indoor temperatures and collected energy, environmental, social,
and health-related data during the winter of 2012-2013. Data were grouped in five
clusters based on indoor temperature characteristics. Indoor temperatures were found
to be far below accepted standards, often putting the health and even the survival of
the residents at risk. Energy consumption for heating was found to be much below
Environmental Studies, University College Dublin, Ireland, 2002.
26. Bouzarovski, S., Energy poverty in the EU: A review of the evidence. DG Regio workshop on Cohesion
policy investing in energy efficiency in buildings, Brussels, 2011.
27. Thomson H. R. and Snell, C. J., Quantifying the prevalence of fuel poverty across the European Union.
Energy Policy, 2013, 52, 563-572.
28. Eurostat, Eurostat population and social conditions. Brussels, Belgium, 2012.
29. Böhnke, P., First European quality of life survey: Life satisfaction, happiness and sense of belonging.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin, Ireland, 2003.
30. Brunner, K. M., Spitzer, M. and Christanell, A., Experiencing fuel poverty. Coping strategies of low-in-
come households in Vienna/Austria.
Energy Policy
, 2011, 49, 53–59.
31. Devaliere, I.,
Identification des processus de précarisation énergétique des ménages et analyse des
modes d’ intervention
. Paris: CSTB, 2010.
32. Santamouris, M., Paravantis, J. A., Founda, D., Kolokotsa, D., Michalakakou, P., Papadopoulos, A.
M., Kontoulis, N., Tzavali, A., Stigka, E. K., Ioannidis, Z., Mehilli, A., Matthiessen, A. and Servou, £.,
Financial crisis and energy consumption: A household survey in Greece. Energy and Buildings, 2013, 65,
477-487.
33. Santamouris, M., Alevizos, S. M., Aslanoglou, L., Mantzios, D., Milonas, P., Sarelli, I., Karatasou, S.,
Cartalis, K. and Paravantis, J. A., Freezing the poor – indoor environmental quality in low and very low
income households during the winter period in Athens. Energy and Buildings, 2014, 70, 61-70.