Are the next-generation households ready for the energy transition? A survey on their positioning and practice with energy management tools

In the last decades, significant effort has been put towards technological advancement in housing for energy transition. Massive retrofitting actions have been called for, and innovative technologies for smart energy management at home have been deployed. However, undesired energy trends in housing suggest that relevant factors have been neglected. Among these, increasing importance is now given to occupants' behaviour, and their capacity to interact with energy management devices available in dwellings. This study investigates what is the position of next-generation users on energy transition at home. Two years ago, the authors launched a survey to explore people's awareness of energy use practices, interaction with metering devices, and user motivation to change when informed. As a pilot survey, over 300 people from the academy were involved to see what was the position of a sample which was supposed to be informed more than the average, in Italy. The test yielded early outcomes on how people become more interested to change as they gain knowledge and are offered suggestions. Despite the expectations, the sample's level of awareness was low. This suggested that a more user-centred approach is needed for wide-scale progress. Especially results from the youngest were below prospects. The questionnaire was relaunched to examine if the pandemic, energy crisis and latest news on climate change have affected positions of the youngsters. A testing session involving university students was performed, and results have been compared with the previous. As a result, reflections on the energy use patterns of the next-generation households are provided.