Abstract:Reducing climate changing emissions associated with residential property continues to be a significant challenge. Five case studies of different domestic energy technology schemes in England highlight the influence of advisers and installers in househol carbon technologies. Many of these advisers and installers are micro-enterprises working in connected groups in particular geographic areas. Such micro-enterprises form a large part of the construction sector, but despite the number of enterprises and the potential impact of changes in the behaviour of the sole traders and small firms, there appears to be little policy that specifically targets this group. Data from these case studies is presented and organised into a typological framework, in order to illustrate the range of ways in which the impact of advisers and installers can be modified. Two of the six factors in the typological framework relate to the motivation of installers themselves and how their work is perceived by their clients. By examining these factors in particular, this paper makes a novel contribution to understanding the factors that influence the take up and use of domestic energy technologies, leading to the possibility of new policy options or interventions. Green Deal is a scheme which allows private householders to repay the costs of energy efficiency improvements through their energy bills rather than needing up front capital payments. The Energy 4Companies Obligation complements the Green Deal by placing a legal requirement on energy suppliers to implement energy efficiency measures, particularly for more vulnerable groups of energy users.Energy technology retrofit clearly has potential to deliver significant emission reductions, but in practice, the success of retrofitting existing building stock to low carbon standards is dependent on social, cultural and economic change as much as technical innovation (Ravetz, 2008). Here, we investigate the role of a largely overlooked change agent in this broadly conceived retrofit process, the energy technology installers and advisers. We explore the interaction of these agents with householders in an effort to better understand their role and influence in the domestic energy retrofit process. We begin by briefly reviewing the factors that affect uptake and use of domestic energy technologies, before moving to the main focus of this paper, the influence of installers and advisers. We explore the role and impact of the adviser and installer through analysis of primary data from five English case studies. We conclude that their role is significant but that some of the characteristics of a large proportion of the advisers and installers mean that they are beyond the reach of current policy interventions. A framework for understanding individual adviser/installer attributes and competencies is developed, which we suggest can help to identify how policy and practice might reach these key individuals and unlock their potential to contribute to, and accelerate, the essential low carbon retrofit...

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 2 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. [197 words]

This article reports on a research project, Leeds City Lab, that brought together partner organizations to explore the meanings and practices of co‐production in the context of urban change. Our intention is to offer a response to the crisis in urban governance by combining the growing academic and practitioner debates on co‐production and urban laboratories in order to explore radically different institutional personae that can respond to deficits in contemporary urban governance, especially relating to participation and disenfranchisement, and ultimately unlock improved ways of designing, managing and living in cities. Our analysis has identified four key ways in which co‐production labs can recast urban governance to more progressive ends: by moving beyond traditional organizational identities and working practices, embracing grey spaces of new civic interfaces, foregrounding emotions and power and committing to durable solutions. Ultimately, what we point towards is that urban governance can be more effectively enacted in co‐production labs that bring together universities and the public, private and civil society sectors on a basis of equality, trust and openness. These spaces have the potential to unlock a city's knowledge, resources and assets, to unpack complex challenges and to build capacity to deliver improved city‐wide solutions.

Deploying heating technologies, such as air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), can respond to the dual challenges of tackling fuel poverty and reducing carbon emissions from domestic energy consumption. In the UK, ASHP performance has been found to be below design levels. Elements of three strands of literature – innovation diffusion, environmental psychology and neighbourhood effects – are combined to gain insights into why the adoption and performance of ASHPs are lagging policy targets and design potential. Evidence from users, installers and area-based scheme facilitators suggests that the perceived complexity of the technology is a barrier. The level of technology maturity and the typical profile of the elderly fuel poor do not match; the target group might prefer to be late adopters or laggards in adopting technology. The role of installers is critical as the disruption from installation is a barrier to adoption and ASHPs place demands on users to change existing practices

This is a repository copy of Exploring the practices and roles of UK construction manufacturers and merchants in relation to housing energy retrofit.