1. Towards low energy
housing in the UK:
learning lessons from
the user
Aimee Walshaw (with Barry Goodchild
and Fin O'Flaherty)
Research Fellow

2. • Between 2009 and 2013 a series of research
projects into low energy housing prioritising the
user as a key actor in the success of low energy
housing
• The projects have very different geneses but
collectively offer insights into the barriers that
exist to maximising the potential of low energy
housing to reduce carbon emissions and
alleviate fuel poverty
Introduction

3. • UK national carbon delivery plan (DECC 2011, 30): "By 2050
the carbon footprint of our buildings will need to be almost
zero"
• How can this be done?
– By decarbonising mainstream energy sources (nuclear,
biomass, wind farms).
– By changing the design of new homes and modernising
old homes to reduce energy demand and incorporate
energy generation
• One will be insufficient without the other and a combination
will be required. Therefore radical changes in the way our
homes look and function cannot be avoided.
Carbon reduction policy in the UK

4. • In principle, low energy homes are a win-win situation for all-
reducing emissions, bills and fuel poverty
• However, the financial impact of an eco-home is not as
advantageous to occupants as might be thought, for two
main reasons:
– The rebound effect: households use lower heating costs to achieve
higher temperatures leading to little or no carbon or financial savings
(Sorrell et al 2008).
– Residents are often unable to use their home in the most economical
way because they don't know how, their Social Housing Provider
(SHP) or developer creates barriers to them getting the best out of the
technology or the equipment underperforms.
• These problems are more likely to be experienced by low
income households.
Low energy homes: a win-win
situation?

5. • These lessons have been derived from three
separate research projects undertaken with the
aim of elucidating the user perspective on
different types of low energy housing:
– retrofit schemes where micro generation
technologies are installed in older housing
– innovative new build eco-homes
– new build powered by communal biomass
heating
Case studies

6. • 2009-2011 several studies of the impact of
micro renewable energy technologies
installed in traditional C19th terraced
properties in England with the aim of
alleviating fuel poverty.
• Two types of technology installed: solar
thermal hot water (STHW) and solar
photovoltaic (PV).
• Study examined energy cost savings before
and after the intervention.
Case 1: retrofit involving micro generation

7. • Savings to residents were negligible at that
time (and offset by fuel price increases)
• Residents were focussed on actual costs
rather than energy consumption
• Savings would have increased if installation
had been accompanied by comprehensive
upgrading of building fabric
• Residents also found the technology difficult
to understand and feared breakdown.
Case 1: retrofit involving micro generation (2)

8. • Residents responses to micro-generation led
to detailed research into residents
experiences of living in a fully fledged eco-
home. Three videos were prepared featuring
first hand accounts from the residents
• Three eco schemes (two social housing, one
private).
• Dramatic variations in practical understanding
of the eco-technology- some coped easily but
many did not
Case 2: Living in an innovative eco-home

9. Case 2: Living in an innovative eco-home (2)
• several residents stated that they had not touched the heating
controls from the day they moved in
• another had been advised to leave her thermostat permanently at 30
degrees

10. Case 2: Living in an innovative eco-home (2)
• another believed that her STHW panels would deliver free electricity

11. Case 2: Living in an innovative eco-home (2)
others had embraced the
'eco-lifestyle' and revelled in
the savings they were
making

12. Case 2: Living in an innovative eco-home
• there were also examples of residents disabling
their fridges and freezers and getting rid of their
cars

13. • To view the films and join the debate visit
www.facebook.com/MyEcoHomeSHU
Case 2: Living in an innovative eco-home

14. • The need to build at higher densities in
London has led to an increase in Biomass
District Heating (BDH) schemes developed by
social SHPs
• BDH combined with high insulation is
favoured approach of the Carbon Delivery
Plan
• Two recent BDH schemes were examined
• The two SHPs approached these schemes in
very different ways
Case 3: responding to biomass district heating

15. • Scheme 1: the SHP became the energy
supplier (ESCo) to it's tenants selling energy
to them at cost
• Scheme 2: the SHP avoided financial liability
by installing pre-payment meters with the
result that tenants paid almost double for their
HHW compared to those in scheme 1
• The technology was effective at reducing
HHW costs but SHPs were gatekeepers to
potential savings
Case 3: responding to biomass district heating (2)

16. • Energy is consumed by people in interaction with their
surrounding, it is not consumed by buildings as such.
• The occupants and the SHPs are therefore as much part of the
energy systems in the home as the fabric and technology.
• Designers, developers, SHPs and policy makers should therefore:
• look at the home from the occupants’ perspective through
consultation and post-occupancy surveys
• avoid over-optimistic promises of reduced energy bills
• provide support to occupants when they move in and training for
frontline staff
• work to minimise the technical complexity of low carbon
technologies and maximise user friendliness
The lessons

17. • a.walshaw@shu.ac.uk
• +44 114 2256297
Thank you for listening

18. • DECC- Department of Energy and Climate Change
(Corporate author) (2011) The Carbon Plan:
Delivering our low carbon future: Presented to
Parliament pursuant to Sections 12 and 14 of the
Climate Change Act 2008: Amended 2nd December
2011 from the version laid before Parliament on 1st
December 2011, London, Crown Copyright.
• Sorrell, S., Dimitropoulos, J. & Sommerville, M.
(2009) ‘Empirical estimates of the direct rebound
effect: A review’, Energy Policy 37: 1356–71
References