Chilling and sweltering at home: Surveying energy poverty and thermal vulnerability among Portuguese higher education students

Portugal faces substantial energy poverty challenges compared to its EU counterparts, mainly stemming from aged buildings with poor thermal performance. This situation is especially critical for higher education students, who exhibit increased vulnerability to energy poverty due to unstable housing conditions within the private rental sector. Among these students, displaced individuals are notably vulnerable and heavily reliant on the private rental sector. Thus, this study delves into the thermal comfort and potential energy poverty vulnerability of higher education students, both displaced and local, across four Portuguese regions: North region, Centre region, Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML), and Alentejo. Surveying 848 students via a 32-question online survey reveals that discomfort prevails in both summer and winter for most populations. Displaced students experienced greater discomfort than local students, potentially attributable to their reliance on the private rental sector, which often entails precarious housing. Although regional disparities in thermal comfort were not significant, the causes of discomfort varied significantly between regions. Notably, displaced students from Alentejo emerged as the most potentially vulnerable population to energy poverty within the study cohort. This study underscores the imperative for policymakers, higher education institutions, and researchers to redirect their focus towards enhancing student housing, particularly within the private rental sector and older buildings, while addressing the energy poverty vulnerability of displaced students.