Energy Poverty in all climates and economies is recognised as problematic, whether related to insufficient warmth or inadequate cooling, making its definition and the identification of which households are most at risk of central importance. Different definitions of Energy Poverty identify not only varying numbers of households at risk, but households with different characteristics, and provide an ambiguous basis for both academic studies and policy design. To confirm and illustrate these universal issues we use a large dataset from the United Kingdom to demonstrate how three commonly used indicators, including two based on official measures, can imply very different targeting policies. In particular, our rich panel dataset confirms and extends the finding that older households are more likely than their younger counterparts to be identified as energy poor when using expenditure-based indicators, but are less likely to self-identify as unable to afford adequate warmth. Similar discrepancies between Energy Poverty indicators relate to the presence of children in a household, household size, and geographical location. This methodological and historical illustration from the UK, which has recently introduced its third official definition of Energy Poverty in a decade, is relevant to any country seeking to measure and address the plight of households who struggle to achieve desired in-home temperatures. The observed contradictions emphasise the importance of obtaining direct evidence on the fundamental underlying issues encapsulated by Energy Poverty. Where in-home temperatures are the focus this means complementing the current measures with information on achieved temperatures and households' temperature preferences.

所有气候和经济体中的能源贫困都被认为是有问题的，无论是与暖气不足还是制冷不足有关，因此其定义和确定哪些家庭面临的风险最重要。能源贫困的不同定义不仅确定了不同数量的面临风险的家庭，而且确定了具有不同特征的家庭，并为学术研究和政策设计提供了模糊的基础。为了确认和说明这些普遍问题，我们使用来自英国的大型数据集来展示三个常用指标（包括两个基于官方措施的指标）如何暗示非常不同的目标政策。特别是，我们丰富的面板数据集证实并扩展了这一发现，即在使用基于支出的指标时，老年家庭比年轻家庭更有可能被认定为能源匮乏，但不太可能自我认定为无法负担足够的温暖。能源贫困指标之间的类似差异与家庭中是否有儿童、家庭规模和地理位置有关。这种来自英国的方法论和历史说明，最近在十年内推出了能源贫困的第三个官方定义，对于任何寻求衡量和解决努力实现理想的室内温度的家庭的困境的国家都具有相关性。观察到的矛盾强调了获得关于能源贫困所涵盖的基本问题的直接证据的重要性。在家庭温度是重点的情况下，这意味着用有关达到的温度和家庭温度偏好的信息来补充当前的措施。