ABSTRACT
In developing a broadly sociological approach we have had to consider the roles, responsibilities and strategies of a much wider range of factors than that which typically populates studies of energy efficiency. In seeking to understand these tensions we have developed an ‘hourglass model’ of technical convergence and cultural diversity. This image helps make sense of the way in which differences in the cultures of knowledge production are reduced through scientific and methodological consensus, and how diverse research environments generate seemingly transferable technical conclusions. If social scientists are to make a substantial contribution to the analysis and promotion of energy efficiency, it will be necessary to go way beyond the ‘human dimensions’ of what remain essentially technological programmes. In developing an alternative understanding of energy-saving action we have abandoned the search for ‘human factors’ that might speed or impede technological diffusion. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
