Indoor Climate Agreements in Energy-Efficiency and Renovation Projects - A Question of Justice?

One of the global dilemmas of our time is the urgent need to reduce energy demand in some parts of the world and at the same time manage to increase and improve energy services in others. This paper calls attention to the importance of also recognizing local energy dilemmas and pockets of more vulnerable groups in energy efficiency and building renovation projects. Interviews with tenants in a Swedish 'million-program' housing area are used to illustrate the arguments in the paper. Results show essential variations in male and female thermal sensation. They also show little compatibility between the tenants' wishes for a comfortable home and the housing company's energy saving ambitions. The paper argues that the use of generalized indoor climate agreements needs to be taken less for granted and complemented with qualitative investigations of all main actors in a specific local context. Only then can possible disparities become evident, and alternative, more just, solutions be worked out.