Project Director: Aimee Ambrose
Project Duration: 2018-2022
Energy efficiency (EE) programme administrators and policy makers have long encouraged the adoption of efficient technologies and conservation practices across customers and end-use sectors. Energy users who haven’t yet participated in, or targeted for efficiency and conservation programmes despite ongoing outreach, are often referred to as ‘Hard-to-Reach’ (HTR), or ‘underserved’. These individuals or organisations can include, for instance, low income or other vulnerable energy users on the residential side; and small businesses or building operators on the non-residential side. More effectively engaging underserved and HTR audiences is key to ensuring everyone benefits equitably from EE policies and programmes. This is even more important in light of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, and the implications for energy use and affordability for the most vulnerable (and newly vulnerable) members of our society.
In June 2019, EE and HTR researchers, practitioners, and policy makers from New Zealand, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada embarked on a 3-year project in partnership with the User-Centred Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Programme (Users TCP) by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The purpose of this initiative is to characterise the diverse energy user segments commonly referred to as HTR and to uncover the barriers and behavioural opportunities to more effectively engage these audiences.
The project team also includes Alvaro Castano Garcia, Dr Sea Rotmann (IEA, Operating Agent), Dr Luis Mundaca (Lund University, Sweden), Kira Ashby (Consortium for Energy Efficiency, USA) and Dr Kim O’Sullivan (University of Otago, New Zealand).
