Given the increasing energy needs for indoor cooling and the growing attention to energy poverty, it is important to understand how cooling energy needs in the hot summer season affect human well-being in relation to income level. Using Japan as a case country, this study examines how much energy consumption increases in response to higher temperatures in the summer season and how the additional energy needs for indoor cooling, in turn, affect subjective well-being (SWB). The results confirm that higher cooling energy needs can reduce SWB. In relation to income level, the lowest-income group faces the highest cooling energy needs, presumably due to lower energy efficiency in housing. In contrast, the negative effect of cooling energy needs on SWB is the largest for the middle-income group. This contradictory finding implies that behavioral aspects matter for the evaluation of SWB.

鉴于室内制冷的能源需求不断增加以及对能源贫困的日益关注，了解炎热夏季的制冷能源需求如何影响与收入水平相关的人类福祉非常重要。本研究以日本为案例国家，考察了夏季高温会增加多少能源消耗，以及室内制冷所需的额外能源又如何影响主观幸福感 (SWB)。结果证实，更高的冷却能量需求可以降低 SWB。就收入水平而言，收入最低的群体面临的制冷能源需求最高，这可能是由于住房能源效率较低。相比之下，冷却能源需求对 SWB 的负面影响对于中等收入群体来说是最大的。