Owen, A and Mitchell, G (2015) Outside influence – Some effects of retrofit installers and advisors on energy behaviours in households. Indoor and Built Environment, 24 (7). 925 - 936. ISSN 1420-326X
Abstract
We analyse qualitative data from home energy retrofit projects in England, looking beyond the boundaries of the building and its design for human behavioural influences on home energy use. We recognise that energy use is not solely determined by the decisions of building users or designers, but that intermediaries involved in energy retrofit may also be influential. Our focus is on retrofit which encompasses a range of changes to existing buildings to alter energy use. Decisions to incorporate new energy technologies into the home (both energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies), and how these technologies are then used, are shaped by the advice and action of energy efficiency advisers and energy technology installers (intermediaries). Understanding the nature of this influence, and how it might be directed to increase energy efficient behaviours, is an overlooked opportunity. We found that influence was greatest at the pre-installation stage, and that influence which could be exercised post-installation was not realised. We conclude that by recognising how the role and influence of intermediaries varies at each stage of the retrofit process, policy and action can be identified to enhance the contribution intermediaries can make to changing behaviours and reducing domestic energy use.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015, the author(s). This is an author produced version of a paper published in Indoor and Built Environment. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Retrofit, advisors, installers, energy efficiency, microgeneration |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Centre for Spatial Analysis & Policy (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC EP/F007566/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Jul 2015 16:13 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2018 03:40 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1420326X15600775 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1420326X15600775 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88008 |