# A case study discovering lock-in effects of culinary culture and behaviours on cooking energy use in Chinese homes

## TL;DR

This study explores how cooking energy use in Chinese homes is influenced by family life stages and cultural cooking habits, offering solutions to reduce energy consumption while respecting culinary traditions.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel indicator, Cooking Energy Use Intensity (CookEUI), to quantify cooking energy use linked to family life cycle stages and habitual practices.

## Key findings

- Cooking energy use accounted for 23% and 48% of total household energy consumption in two case study homes.
- CookEUI increases with family life cycle stages, reaching 8.13–12.86 kWh/day in three-generation households.
- Culturally embedded culinary behaviors strongly influence cooking energy use, suggesting potential for sustainable interventions.

## Abstract

China’s rapid urbanization and industrialization have expanded building floorspace and contributed to rising carbon emissions in the building sector. An often-overlooked aspect of residential energy use is cooking, which this study examines through two longitudinal household case studies, combined with a questionnaire survey of 202 households. Monitoring results show that cooking accounted for 23% and 48% of total household energy consumption in the two cases, confirming its significant contribution to the residential carbon footprint. To further investigate the observed highly linear growth in cooking energy use in both households, a questionnaire survey was further conducted, revealing a lock-in effect correlating cooking energy with family life cycle (FLC) stages and habitual cooking practices, rather than with family size per se. To quantify this relationship, this study proposes a novel indicator, Cooking Energy Use Intensity (CookEUI), defined as the average daily cooking energy consumption (kWh/day). CookEUI ranges from 4.13 to 5.10 kWh/day for elderly and middle-aged couples, increases to approximately 6–7 kWh/day for two-generation households, and reaches 8.13–12.86 kWh/day for three-generation households with dependent children. Survey responses further indicate that cooking energy is strongly constrained by culturally embedded culinary behaviours. Our findings suggest potential solutions to reduce cooking energy use and emissions – such as alternative cooking appliances, cleaner energy sources, and community dining options – while respecting entrenched culinary culture, providing valuable insights for sustainable residential cooking practice and supporting efforts to reduce household carbon emissions.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-35302-1.