Ambrose, A., Davies, K., McCarthy, L. et al. (2 more authors) (2025) Low carbon heating transitions and Actor Network Theory: Entanglements with the fireside. Energy Research & Social Science, 126. 104140. ISSN 2214-6296
Abstract
We share findings from 30 oral histories of home heating (1945 to present) gathered in the former coal mining town of Rotherham in Northern England. By analysing these rich personal accounts using Actor Network Theory (ANT), we reveal the coal fire (or coal-fired range) as a powerful actant shaping domestic life in the decades following the end of the Second World War. This exposes important, previously unacknowledged, relational-material entanglements with the fireside, which endure despite many decades of gas central heating in the UK. The nature and strength of these entanglements have implications for the socially and culturally sensitive handling of efforts (across Europe) to transition households to more technological low carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps. This paper sets out early findings from the UK component of a Europe-wide project which innovatively seeks to establish a social and cultural history of home heating in order to distil lessons for a more socially and culturally conscious transition to low carbon heating systems.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Heating transition; Home; Solid fuels; Oral history; Coal |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) AH/X005755/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Jun 2025 12:56 |
Last Modified: | 04 Jun 2025 12:56 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.erss.2025.104140 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:227366 |