Abstract
This paper uses ideas from actor network theory to characterise the structure of the UK domestic heating industry. This analysis is then applied to a discussion of the diffusion of condensing boiler technology. This innovative and proven design saves substantial amounts of energy yet its penetration into the homes of many European states remains pitiful. As such it remains a potentially important, but as yet unused, weapon in the struggle to heat our homes more sustainably. Quantitative survey analyses and interviews with the range of actors from builders and trades associations to heating installers and householders are used to characterise the relationships between actors. Some tractable policy recommendations are set out in the context of the UK government’s attempts to increase the spread of condensing boiler technology.
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Banks, N. (2001). Socio-Technical Networks and the Sad Case of the Condensing Boiler. In: Bertoldi, P., Ricci, A., de Almeida, A. (eds) Energy Efficiency in Household Appliances and Lighting. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56531-1_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56531-1_20
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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