SUMMARYCouncils and social housing organisations are looking to retrofit as a way to make their housing more energy efficient. Previous studies on energy use in social housing have generally focussed on the technological aspects (such as the potential savings possible by retrofitting this class of housing across the UK) or have involved one-off interventions or measures. During a two-year period, we worked with previously homeless people to reduce their energy consumption. The 32 participants lived in small blocks of flats (owned by a social housing organisation) that underwent retrofitting with air source heat pumps. We ran a three-phase tenant engagement programme to compare a range of approaches aimed at energy reduction. It was found that education, social norms, and self-awareness are all key components when it comes to initiating Environmentally Responsible Behaviours. The three approaches complemented each other, and these ought to be considered alongside technology Running head: Complementing retrofit with engagement 2 provision if the aim is to reduce energy consumption. A number of reflections on the implementation of medium-term tenant engagement programmes are also presented.
During a period of 6 months, 16 previously homeless male participants from a small town in the UK were encouraged to adopt an intrinsic and environmentally responsible attitude. The aim was specifically to reduce the participants' energy consumption. This was done through self-awareness sessions in parallel with traditional environmental educational sessions. Self-awareness was in this study used as a tool to help guide the participants towards a positive sense of self through the engagement of energy saving behaviors. The self-awareness sessions took place in the form of a series of small group sessions. Focus groups were conducted prior to the self-awareness sessions and individual interviews conducted after they had been completed, in order to measure whether their environmentally held beliefs had changed. Each focus group and interview was structured around their environmentally held beliefs and took less than 1 hour. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The analysis revealed that at the onset the participants lacked interest in energy reduction behaviors. However, after having taken part in the selfawareness sessions it became evident that a shift in attitude had occurred. This investigation was part of a bigger project with the participants in which their social housing underwent retrofitting with air-source heat pumps, to make the houses more energy efficient.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.