Energy insecurity and air conditioning in urban environments: Structural constraints, coping practices, and wellbeing in Hong Kong

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Energy insecurity is increasingly shaped by the need for cooling, particularly in dense subtropical cities where heat, housing constraints, and inequality intersect. Yet research on energy insecurity has focused mainly on heating, affordability, and temperate settings, leaving limited understanding of how households experience constrained energy use in cooling-dependent urban environments. This study examines energy insecurity in Hong Kong, where high-rise housing, poor ventilation, small dwellings, and unequal exposure to energy costs shape everyday cooling practices. It uses a mixed-methods design, combining a survey of 3877 residents with in-depth interviews with residents of subdivided flats, public rental housing, caregiving households, and key informants. The findings show that renters, low-income households, and residents facing poor ventilation or direct tariff exposure are more likely to restrict air conditioning, reduce lighting and hot water use, cycle between cooling devices, and reallocate household budgets towards energy costs. These practices are associated with physical discomfort, stress, strained household relationships, and reduced work or school performance. The study advances energy insecurity research by showing how structural housing conditions and household coping practices jointly shape wellbeing in a cooling-dependent city. It also highlights the need for policies that treat adequate cooling as a matter of public health, housing quality, and energy justice.