Easy-to-adopt lessons for organisers of large scale energy consumption studies in households

Panel: 6. Appliances, product policy and ICT

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Author:
Chris Evans, Consumer Research Associates Ltd, United Kingdom

Abstract

Most authorities need to establish the types of data that can only be produced from household studies but are put off from commissioning them due to their anticipated cost and complexity. This presentation demystifies these complexities and demonstrates a successful management structure that can be confidently adopted by any authority planning to commission such studies in future.

A study monitoring some consumer behaviour and the electricity consumption of all the domestic appliances in 250 households has recently been completed in England. The results of the initial analyses and, uniquely, the entire 8Gb database have already been made publically available. Although this presentation will pick some headlines from the findings (such as English families use more energy to wash dishes than they do to wash clothes) its main theme is to identify the key features of the design and management processes that enabled this huge and complex research programme to be completed as specified, on time and on budget with no disasters!