ECEEE SUMMER STUDY PROCEEDINGS 2167 Energy efficient technologies in the UK – installing, adopting, learning and everyday lives

摘要

The United Kingdom (UK) housing stock, like the majority ofEurope, is facing significant challenges with regards to carbonreduction, energy consumption and energy affordability. Energyconsumption and the cost of fuel continue to increase andthe housing stock becomes older. At the governmental levelthere has been, and continues to be, a strong drive to tacklethese issues through the retrofit of existing dwellings. Althoughthe installation of energy efficient technologies in the homes ofowner occupiers is still the exception rather than the norm, thesocial housing sector are pioneers in this area and have beeninstalling increasingly efficient technologies and interfaces inhomes for a number of years. These households within thesocial housing sector are effectively serving as test sites fromwhere we can understand how new technologies and interfacesare being adopted, installed, understood and used in-situ. Thispaper draws upon findings arising from a multi-method studywhich aimed to understand the processes involved in the adoptionof energy efficient technologies within the social housingsector. Of central importance to this research have been thebarriers and concerns to installing energy efficient technologiesin the homes of social housing tenants. The research alsofocused upon attempting to better understand the issues facedby technology providers, developers and housing providerswhen supplying energy reducing technologies to households.Emerging findings are highlighting that there are currently anumber of areas where there is a mismatch between householders,social landlords and those responsible for designing andinstalling energy efficient technologies for deployment withinthe UK housing stock.