Abstract

The availability of ever-increasing amounts of energy are the basis of our current energy-intensive lifestyle. Accordingly, historians of energy have primarily addressed the growth in energy consumption that has lasted for about two hundred years. On the way to sustainable energy futures, it is necessary to reduce the overall energy consumption level. The article searches for historical traces of energy conservation and points out that current discussions about energy sufficiency are expressions of a discourse that goes back at least to the early modern period and has recurrently been updated since then.