Abstract: Energy as the basis for daily activities on an individual level and for economic activities on a societal level gives fundamental importance to our lives. Individual decisions on the consumption of goods and services not only determine the energy use but also have impacts on the overall performance of economic structures. As economists point out energy use and economic growth are mutually connected any change in energy consumption patterns influences the economic system of a society. The paper wants to draw the attention on individual innovations in the daily energy practice. More concrete, two examples of the field are further explored: one deals with practices related to space by analyzing possibilities that multifunctional settlements offer in the organisation of less energy intensive practices such as food cooperatives etc. The other example focuses on the demand side of energy by analyzing do-it-yourself examples of individual energy production such as self-made windmills. These two examples show that daily organisation of lives has large potentials for the shaping of energy and degrowth transitions.

This media entry was a contribution to the special session "Technology and degrowth part 2: Practical cases" at the 4th International Degrowth Conference in Leipzig in 2014.