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The design of interactive technology meant to change people’s behavior to save energy in the home has occupied HCI researchers in the last decades. In this paper, we extend current HCI literature by investigating one-time actions for long-term energy reduction. We report from an empirical study using district heating as a case. District heating is a way of heating houses where hot water is distributed through a network of pipes from energy supplier to individual buildings. We report from interviews with energy suppliers and households interested in reducing their energy consumption and ask why and how people take one-time actions towards reducing their heat consumption. We present our findings in three themes of; energy literacy as enabler of heat reductions, motivation for heat reductions, and technology supporting heat reduction. We further discuss our findings as to how one-time actions for long-term energy reduction can be supported through interactive technology. The design of interactive technology meant to change people's behavior to save energy in the home has occupied HCI researchers in the last decades. In this paper, we extend current HCI literature by investigating one-time actions for long-term energy reduction. We report from an empirical study using district heating as a case. District heating is a way of heating houses where hot water is distributed through a network of pipes from energy supplier to individual buildings. We report from interviews with energy suppliers and households interested in reducing their energy consumption and ask why and how people take one-time actions towards reducing their heat consumption. We present our findings in three themes of; energy literacy as enabler of heat reductions, motivation for heat reductions, and technology supporting heat reduction. We further discuss our findings as to how one-time actions for long-term energy reduction can be supported through interactive technology.

Climate change will affect the same climate zones relatively similarly. When considering how to design residential architecture for future climates it is therefore relevant to understand how residential architecture can adapt within the specific climate zone. Denmark is placed within the oceanic climate zone and shares many of the same problems that countries in similar climates do. However, the architectural responses have developed radically different. Denmark has been building heating efficient housing for the last decade, which have lately caused increased overheating problems and surging energy demands for cooling. This paper compares the architecture of different oceanic zones with Danish architecture. The strategies for adapting to climate change represents a broad variety. Western European tradition has itself created varied methods for coping with the climatic struggles their societies meet. Danish architecture has for centuries been focused on heavy robust constructions that would withstand the large amount of precipitation and wind that is predominant in the country. In Holland flood danger has been a constant threat to society, which has led both to defensive and reactive measures in the form of dykes and amphibious housing. On the other side of the globe, New Zealand’s traditional architecture has adapted to similar problems but with a much lighter construction, leading to architecture that is resilient to lateral forces like wind and earthquakes. While lacking the thermal properties of northern European houses the New Zealand homes show a remarkable flexibility and mobility through simple timber-frame constructions. The vulnerabilities in the Danish building stock is due to an unwillingness to invest in adaptive measures. It might be necessary to integrate a flexible building style to future sustainable housing and build up a different expectation for how a house is used. In the face of climate change, architecture need to be adapted to the problems apparent on the building site and draw on experiences from other cultures that might have faced similar problems in the past. Danish architects might likewise use the non-rocky ground for water retention through planting and landscaping strategies in relation to architecture.

In Europe, energy and climate policies started to take shape from the 1990s onwards culminating with the ambitious 20-20-20 climate goals and the Low-Carbon Europe roadmap 2050. The European Commission empower the importance of achieving the objective of the recast Directive on energy performance of buildings (EPBD) that new buildings built from 2021 onwards will have to be nearly zero-energy buildings. The general belief is that the energy performance optimization of buildings requires an integrated design approach and cross-disciplinary teamwork to optimize the building's energy use and quality of indoor environment while satisfying the occupants' needs.In this context, there is a substantial need for professionals such as architects and engineers specifically trained and educated in integrated design approach and trained to work in cross-disciplinary teams. To be able to push forward the development, it is essential that educational institutions foster professionals with such knowledge, skills and competences. An initiative toward this direction is the EU-project of IDES-EDU: "Master and Post-Graduate education and training in multi-disciplinary teams".The paper describes the necessity of more integrated and cross-disciplinary approaches to building design through state-of-the-art of the building sector and educational initiatives in the participating countries in the project, and through theory of design processes. The paper also communicates the results of newly developed cross-disciplinary education established by fifteen different educational institutions in Europe. Finally, the paper explains and discusses the challenges encountered during development and implementation of the education across different professions and countries. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion