Students' perception of energy poverty—A comparative analysis between local and exchange university students from Montevideo, Lisbon, and Padua

Energy Poverty (EP) is a growing concern in EU and national policies. Limited research has been conducted on students' perception of EP and vulnerability to EP, especially on how this may be modified if the student is a local or an exchange university student and how this interacts with the season (i.e., summer and winter). Therefore, the present research aims to deepen this understanding by analyzing and comparing students' perceptions of EP and exploring their vulnerability to EP, considering their background and the city they live in, using Montevideo in Uruguay, Lisbon in Portugal, and Padua in Italy, as case studies. To achieve these aims, two populations of university students in each city were surveyed: one of Local Students (LS) and another of Exchange Students (ES). Responses from 295 students to an online survey with 44 questions covering several aspects of EP and energy awareness were collected in 2022.