Analysing social milieus and lifestyles-their contribution to a better understanding of heating practices

Abstract

This chapter introduces empirical social research on social milieus, and why lifestyles are of interest to Living Lab research. We present the results of a milieu analysis for Living Lab research in Bottrop. We enrich the findings from the milieu analysis by describing the influence of lifestyles on heating practices, combining a representative statistical analysis for Germany with in-depth qualitative interviews of Living Lab participants. When it comes to heating practices, lifestyles expressing higher material wealth and socio-economic status show meanings associated with comfort or convenience rather than financial reasoning.