Housing conditions and the use of alternative energy sources in households of senior citizens in Poland

1.IntroductionThe main objective of each household is to satisfy individual and collective consumer needs. This objective is the starting point for the choices and decisions made by household members. For the assessment of the structure of household consumption, what is of key importance is the dwelling and housing conditions, in addition to income earned by each household member. The dwelling is characterized by durability, longevity and a fixed location, and also plays a crucial role in the functioning of every human being as an indispensable element in the development of the family. It is there that the basic processes of family life related to the fulfilment of biological, psychological, cultural and social, economic and utilitarian functions unfold [Korzeniewski 2008, p. 27; Zalega 2012, p. 159]. The dwelling may, therefore, be said to fulfil an extremely important role in the biopsychological and social existence of humans, becoming an instrumental value in the satisfaction of many human, both primary and higher-order, needs (the latter being connected with equipping the dwelling with higher-order goods). All this has a direct impact on individual attitudes and behaviors of consumers and influences market behaviors of households, regardless of the relationship with the objective situation [Zalega 2015, p. 79]. As a result of the constantly increasing electricity and heat prices, more and more households, in particular those living in single-family detached and semi-detached houses, are interested in alternative energy sources. The share of renewable energy consumed in Polish households is currently limited and represents less than 3% of the national primary energy output [GUS 2011]. It should be noted, however, that this share is growing year by year.Household applications most frequently include a combination of several methods of generating energy, in particular hybrid solar-wind systems consisting of photovoltaic modules and an electricity-producing wind turbine. In order to independently supply houses with energy, also a number of different devices are used simultaneously. Most commonly, these are separate systems such as power-generating PV modules and thermal solar collectors providing heat. Mutual work for mutual purposes may be efficient as well, for example a heat pump that de- livers heat to the building and is powered by a photovoltaic system generating electricity solely for the pump [Nazari et al. 2014, pp. 2936-2937]. Rarely, however, do household applications involve solutions such as concentrated solar power systems (only parabolic troughs are used for household applications) [van der Schoor & Scholtens 2015, pp. 669-670]. This article outlines the factors determining the fulfilment of needs of seniors' households in Poland as regards housing and their use of alternative energy sources. Given the length constraints, its primary goal is to show the housing situation as well as satisfaction with housing conditions and place of residence in the surveyed households. The structure of the article is as follows. A brief theoretical introduction and a synthetic discussion of the research methodology, assumptions and the characteristics of the research sample are followed by an analysis of the housing situation, conditions and types of occupied dwelling, together with satisfaction with the place of residence of the elderly's households. The final part focuses on the basic motives driving households of people aged 65+ to resort to renewable energy sources for electricity and heat. A conclusion of the analysis and major findings end this article.2. Literature review2.1. Factors determining the fulfilment of households' accommodation needsThe dwelling and its furnishings are important factors in the fulfilment of households' basic needs. Material household possessions represent a tangible aspect of the consumption process as specifically reflected by the dwelling and its furnishings. …