Final Report Summary - BARENERGY (Barriers for energy changes among end consumers and households)
The main objective of the project BARENERGY (Barriers for energy changes among end consumers and households) was to develop methods to identify the relevance and strengths of various barriers for energy behaviour changes among end consumers and households, and to discuss how activities from political authorities, energy producers and NGOs can overcome these barriers.
Barriers to changes in consumer behaviour are considered along three dimensions. The first relates to energy saving behaviour, in practice (turn down/switch off of appliances and heating systems; take the bike instead of the car on short distances, etc.). The second considers improvements in energy efficiency. This includes consumers buying energy efficient appliances and therefore relates to changes in purchase behaviour. The third dimension is about moving towards more sustainable and renewable energy technologies.
The results from the empirical research on the strength and relevance of the various barriers to the three strategies (saving, efficiency and change) suggest there is little difference between the strategies. The same sets of barriers were repeatedly identified for all three strategies. Our main conclusion is that you have to combine institutional and individual tools and approaches to overcome all barriers.
Energy saving behaviour
We studied three consumption areas identified under the heading of energy saving: domestic energy use, household appliances and car use, and subsequent subtopics that fall under these three headings: heating behaviour, cooking and baking, use appliances, drive more efficient, less short distance driving, car use versus public traffic and car pooling.
In the context of energy saving, knowledge-based barriers are critical. Reducing energy consumption without compromising comfort and personal status is a key challenge for consumers. As such, these barriers are closely related to individual/psychological factors, which are in turn influenced by our daily practices, social networks, etc, and even by physical-structural barriers.
Energy efficiency
Under the heading of energy efficiency we also studied three consumption areas: domestic energy use, household appliances and fuel consumption of cars, and subsequent subtopics that fall under these three headings: energy efficient refurbishment, purchase of energy efficient appliance and purchase of fuel efficient cars.
The results from the project show that in the field of domestic energy efficiency, knowledge-based barriers again play a very important role. Clear and reliable product information is central to ensuring informed consumer purchase choices. From the consumers perspective, awareness of the availability of products and, where relevant, subsidies is also important. Furthermore, the quantitative survey showed that consumers often perceive 'green' products and services to cost more than 'traditional' ones. That these high upfront costs can be recovered through energy savings over the lifetime of the product is of little consequence to consumer purchase decisions.
Change toward sustainable energy
We studied two areas identified under the heading of change toward sustainable energy: domestic energy use and fuel consumption of cars, and subsequent subtopics that fall under these two headings: photovoltaic panels, buying green energy, constructing low energy houses, hybrid cars and green fuel cars.
The change towards sustainable energy represents a personal transition of meeting our energy needs in a more sustainable way. This personal transition is hampered by a number of barriers. The knowledge barrier is highly relevant.
Barriers to changes in consumer behaviour are considered along three dimensions. The first relates to energy saving behaviour, in practice (turn down/switch off of appliances and heating systems; take the bike instead of the car on short distances, etc.). The second considers improvements in energy efficiency. This includes consumers buying energy efficient appliances and therefore relates to changes in purchase behaviour. The third dimension is about moving towards more sustainable and renewable energy technologies.
The results from the empirical research on the strength and relevance of the various barriers to the three strategies (saving, efficiency and change) suggest there is little difference between the strategies. The same sets of barriers were repeatedly identified for all three strategies. Our main conclusion is that you have to combine institutional and individual tools and approaches to overcome all barriers.
Energy saving behaviour
We studied three consumption areas identified under the heading of energy saving: domestic energy use, household appliances and car use, and subsequent subtopics that fall under these three headings: heating behaviour, cooking and baking, use appliances, drive more efficient, less short distance driving, car use versus public traffic and car pooling.
In the context of energy saving, knowledge-based barriers are critical. Reducing energy consumption without compromising comfort and personal status is a key challenge for consumers. As such, these barriers are closely related to individual/psychological factors, which are in turn influenced by our daily practices, social networks, etc, and even by physical-structural barriers.
Energy efficiency
Under the heading of energy efficiency we also studied three consumption areas: domestic energy use, household appliances and fuel consumption of cars, and subsequent subtopics that fall under these three headings: energy efficient refurbishment, purchase of energy efficient appliance and purchase of fuel efficient cars.
The results from the project show that in the field of domestic energy efficiency, knowledge-based barriers again play a very important role. Clear and reliable product information is central to ensuring informed consumer purchase choices. From the consumers perspective, awareness of the availability of products and, where relevant, subsidies is also important. Furthermore, the quantitative survey showed that consumers often perceive 'green' products and services to cost more than 'traditional' ones. That these high upfront costs can be recovered through energy savings over the lifetime of the product is of little consequence to consumer purchase decisions.
Change toward sustainable energy
We studied two areas identified under the heading of change toward sustainable energy: domestic energy use and fuel consumption of cars, and subsequent subtopics that fall under these two headings: photovoltaic panels, buying green energy, constructing low energy houses, hybrid cars and green fuel cars.
The change towards sustainable energy represents a personal transition of meeting our energy needs in a more sustainable way. This personal transition is hampered by a number of barriers. The knowledge barrier is highly relevant.