This project will construct new research infrastructure, the Customer Energy Village [majority funded by the UK government’s Getting Building fund], which reflect the challenges of heat decarbonisation faced by millions of consumers. It will then utilise that infrastructure to undertake research, with partners National Energy Action [NEA] and Newcastle University, into new energy efficiency measures from across the supply chain, [digital, physical and commercial], and working with the NEA customer base explore the barriers to adoption of those measures, to support development of future policy and training materials, which would enable these to make a significant impact in reducing existing heat demand, thus enabling decarbonisation to take place ahead of any significant technology switch to either electrical heat or decarbonisation gas.
Benefits
The benefits of this work include:
· Deliverable: Production of ‘proof of concept’ report to present key findings - This will articulate the learning discovered during this project.
· Deliverable: Production of academic papers – peer reviewed and shared through academic circles to expand knowledge and interest in this area of research.
· Deliverable: Development of e-learning training module – a shared set of training material for industry and wider stakeholders to understand the research, where the challenges were found and suggested way to progress energy efficiency in future.
Learnings
Outcomes
Overall, the project offered a unique opportunity to approach technology adoption and user engagement, opening new avenues for research and practice. The Futures Close project allowed participants to learn about a range of new energy related technologies and experience them in the context of real life. Visiting the demonstrator site exposed participants to technologies that they were unfamiliar with, allowed them to see the technologies in operation and experience the look, feel and, in some cases, sound of the different technologies in a home environment. These three factors were found to be important aspects of successful customer engagement and can help with decision making. However, there were some limitations to the in-person visits, with logistical issues related to travel, cost, time, health and safety and the capacity of the site. One option to address these limitations is to move the experience online. Research suggests that greater exposure to smart home information, both online and offline, could enhance consumer willingness to engage with these technologies. An online platform could potentially address some of the limitations associated with the site visit and incorporate new features to create an interactive experience for larger numbers of people. This would build upon the valuable work carried out at Futures Close and open up new avenues for social research in this area.
Lessons Learnt
The protracted build process [2022-2024] significantly delayed commencement of the research programme on site. Some of the issues [weather/ labour supply, material costs] were unprecedented, however the build was successfully delivered in January 2024. Aside from the build challenges, the research phase also experienced setbacks including engagement with vendors, installation challenges and issues with data sensors not recording data accurately and analysis producing inconclusive findings. In response to the data accuracy issue an online dashboard was produced to ensure better accuracy and calibration of sensors; providing alerts when sensors went offline.
It was only possible to confirm conclusive findings from 4 out of the 7 technologies installed. In two of these cases, data challenges limited the analysis and ability to draw conclusive findings. In 1 of the cases (window seals) the sash windows to which the seals were retrofitted were airtight and had not experienced any material degradation for the seal to make a difference to draught or noise reduction. Findings in this case were inconclusive. Despite these challenges we are pleased to report that in the case of all 7 of the technologies, the focus groups delivered good depth of qualitative findings offering good consumer insights which have been passed back to manufacturers to inform product development.
Despite the challenges outlined, the project team is pleased to confirm that overall, the project offered a unique opportunity to approach technology adoption and user engagement, opening new avenues for research and practice.
The Futures Close project allowed participants to learn about a range of new energy related technologies and experience them in the context of real life. Visiting the demonstrator site exposed participants to technologies that they were unfamiliar with, allowed them to see the technologies in operation and experience the look, feel and, in some cases, sound of the different technologies in a home environment.
These three factors were found to be important aspects of successful customer engagement and can help with decision making. However, there were some limitations to the in-person visits, with logistical issues related to travel, cost, time, health and safety and the capacity of the site. One option to address these limitations is to move the experience online. Research suggests that greater exposure to smart home information, both online and offline, could enhance consumer willingness to engage with these technologies. An online platform could potentially address some of the limitations associated with the site visit and incorporate new features to create an interactive experience for larger numbers of people. This would build upon the valuable work carried out at Futures Close and open new avenues for social research in this area.
