General Information
Project description
Using a place-based approach and working with profiled local communities in Coventry, we prototype and test a new experimental methodology with elements of design thinking to better understand barriers to engagement with retrofit measures designed to reduce household carbon emissions and alleviate fuel poverty. We partner with Coventry City Council, a local school and artists to deliver a pilot scheme in the Radford area of Coventry and aim in future to expand the project to additional areas (i.e., St Micheals and Foleshill). The project aims to help Coventry City Council increase the uptake of energy efficiency schemes for eligible households.
Recent Government data reveals that the residential sector contributes to around 25% of total energy consumption and up to 20% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions. The Climate Change Committee emphasises the necessity for nearly complete decarbonization of heating in residential buildings to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as current carbon emissions reduction rates are insufficient to meet the net-zero target. To this end, behaviour change as well as public engagement with available schemes are crucial not only to meet the Government’s ambitious target to improve EPC ratings (up to C) by 2035 but also to create warmer houses to ameliorate individuals’ health and improve their life quality (Clean Growth Strategy, 2017).
Enhancing energy-efficiency practices and reducing carbon emissions associated with housing can potentially address inequalities exacerbated by the effects of climate change such as unemployment, fuel, and food poverty, with positive spillover effects on individuals’ health. Recent national statistics (BEIS, 2020, cited in CCC, 2023) reveal that Coventry is one of the worst affected authorities in the country by fuel poverty, with over 20.3% of households in fuel poverty (and, in some areas, exceeding 50%). For these c.20% of households in fuel poverty, problems are also exacerbated by the current energy crisis and its impact on (increasing) energy bills. However, the current uptake of energy efficiency measures in Coventry is extremely low (2% on total eligible), even amongst government funded schemes which can cover 100% costs of the measures (e.g., ECO Flex). Therefore, understanding the challenge of engaging residents with retrofit measures in the local area is crucial for the success of Coventry's net zero roadmap.
The reasons that keep individuals trapped in unsustainable behaviour that have been identified in the literature reveals in fact that there are different preferences and practices that may influence people’s engagement with technology or actions aimed at increasing energy conservation.
Among the different barriers, capability barriers (e.g., the lack of awareness of both the schemes and the benefits associated with them, and the difficulty in navigating the large number of options and decisions) seem to be predominant though attention is also placed on lack of personalised advice (see e.g., Mallaband et al., 2013; Palmer et al., 2018). This means it is crucial to engage people in the retrofitting process and tailor it to suit their individual household needs and associated risks, but also provide them with the right advice and information relevant for specific market groups. Our research aims to achieve both objectives.
References
Palmer, J., Poku-Awuah, A., Adams, A., Webb, S. (2018). What are the Barriers to Retrofit in Social Housing? Report for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c9210e640f0b633f71989cb/Barrier__to_Retrofit_in_Social_Housing.pdf [Accessed 22 March, 2024].
Carmichael, R. (2019). Behaviour change, public engagement and Net Zero. A report for the Committee on Climate Change. [online] Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Behaviour-change-public-engagement-and-Net-Zero-Imperial-College-London.pdf. [Accessed 11 March, 2024]
CCC, 2023. Net Zero Carbon Route Map For Coventry, available at:
https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7469/net-zero-carbon-route-map-for-coventry [Accessed 16 September, 2023).
MALLABAND, B., HAINES, V. and MITCHELL, V. ( 2013). Barriers to domestic retrofit: learning from past home improvement experiences. IN: Swan, W. and Brown, P. (eds). Retrofitting the Built Environment. Chichester, West Sussex : Wiley-Blackwell, pp.184-199.
The Clean Growth Strategy (2017). Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ad5f11ded915d32a3a70c03/clean-growth-strategy-correction-april-2018.pdf [Accessed 22 March, 2024].
Analysis Plan
Pre-analysis plan: Is there a pre-analysis plan associated with this registration?
Hypothesis
1) Understanding the barriers to housing retrofitting across different market groups may lead to better informed interventions.
2) Increasing awareness of housing retrofitting schemes and their benefits helps increasing the uptake of energy efficiency measures.
3) Local community members and young pupils can be catalyst of change.
How hypothesis will be tested
With the support of experienced arts professionals and a local school, we plan to prototype and test a new experimental methodology with elements of design thinking to help the Council to understand potential barriers to the uptake of energy efficiency upgrades for eligible residents living in Radford. If successful the methodology and pilot scheme will be expanded to additional areas of Coventry (i.e., St Micheals and Foleshill).
The long-term objective of the project is to help the Council to increase the uptake of energy efficiency schemes for eligible households, via a new experimental methodology.
The project outcome and impact will be measured:
1) collecting feedback from participants on the quality of the workshops to inform future iterations of this pilot;
2) collecting data on barriers to housing retrofitting informed by the design thinking workshop to inform the design of a survey questionnaire that will be widely disseminated in the community;
3) capturing evidence of behaviour change by looking at “increased percentage of queries about the schemes”; or "gathering data on how residents became aware of retrofit measures after the project is completed.
4) providing data on the number of clicks on any material shared in social media and created during the project.
Dependent variables
1) Individuals' willingness to take housing retrofitting measures will be collected via a survey questionnaire disseminated initially in the local school selected for the pilot and then more broadly as the pilot is replicated in other areas of Coventry and using social media and linking with the press.
2) Increased uptake of housing retrofitting measures after the STEAM workshops are delivered can be measured capturing measures of behaviour change as indicated in point 3 of the section "how will your hypotheses be tested".
Analyses
1) A regression analysis will be undertaken to understand the drivers of individuals' willingness to take housing retrofitting measures. Data will include socio-demographic characteristics and attitudinal variables collected from participants to the survey questionnaire.
2) Increased uptake of housing retrofitting measures after the STEAM workshops are delivered can be measured capturing measures of behaviour change as indicated in point 3 of the section "how will your hypotheses be tested" (note that in the long run as the pilot will be replicated in different areas and additional data collected, an empirical analysis can also be undertaken to test the impact of the intervention on actual behaviour).
External link
United Kingdom
Coventry
Who is behind the project?
Project status:
Pre-registration
Methods
What is the project about?
Date published:
27 September 2024