Abstract
The energy cultures framework was developed in 2009 to support interdisciplinary investigation into
energy behaviour in New Zealand. In this paper, we discuss the framework in light of 5 years of empirical
application and conceptual development. The concept of culture is helpful in seeking to better understand
energy behaviour because it conveys how behaviours are embedded within the physical and social
contexts of everyday life, and how they are both repetitive and heterogeneous. The framework suggests
that the energy culture of a given subject (e.g. an individual, a household, a business, a sector) can be
studied by examining the interrelationships between their norms, practices and material culture, and
how these, in turn, are shaped by external influences. We discuss the key theoretical influences of the
framework, and how the core concepts of the framework have evolved as we have applied them in different
research situations. We then illustrate how we have applied the framework to a range of topics and
sectors, and how it has been used to support interdisciplinary research, in identifying clusters of energy
cultures, in examining energy cultures at different scales and in different sectors, and to inform policy
development.