SOFIA ENERGY CENTRE LTD.

Improving the Social Dialogue for Energy Efficient Social Housing - ISEES

supported by 

Introduction
The accessibility of appropriate and affordable housing is one of the pre-conditions to achieve social welfare. One aspect that determines the quality of housing is the energy demand. High heat energy consumption of households and public buildings in accession countries compared with EU average is caused by the low thermal quality of the existing building stock, obsolete equipment, problems with metering and billing of the consumed heat energy. Furthermore, the energy demand in buildings is being infl uenced by individual behaviour of the energy users and their insufficient knowledge to optimise their energy consumption.
Objectives
The purpose of this project is to examine the infl uence of individual user behaviour on the energy
demand in social housing. It will develop solutions to integrate energy effi ciency measures in social housing based on the development of social dialogue between users, housing associations, energy utilities (e.g. DH companies and energy supply companies) and municipalities, in order to:
• identify the problems connected to energy use in social housing (from supply and demand side
view);
• protect the existing valuable infrastructure from obsolescence by developing options to improve
effi cient energy supply to these buildings;
• provide the involved stakeholders with appropriate technical solutions and socio-economic tools to optimise the energy use in social housing;
• assess the quality of services provided by utilities and district heating companies; provide
concrete solutions to overcome barriers on the way to achieve energy effi cient social housing
• provide concrete solutions to overcome barriers on the way to achieve energy effi cient social
housing.
Target group
• Occupants: tenants and owners of dwellings in buildings classifi ed as “social housing”, i.e. multi-family buildings
• Decision-makers on the local level
• Housing associations and their umbrella organisations
• Local energy suppliers and utilities, in particular district heating companies
• Architects, planners and equipment suppliers
Project Duration:
January 2006 – December 2007
Expected results
The direct project results expected will be as follows:
• A better understanding of the users’ behaviour, their motivation and their needs for energy
services, based on field testing in selected model buildings and dwellings in 5 countries
• Knowledge of the socio-economic rationality that lies behind individual decision-making processes
• The outline of a model refurbishment process for 5 participating countries where the needs of the occupants are being respected and where tenants/owners are actively involved in the development and realisation of improvement measures
• Specific recommendations and supporting manuals for tenants and owners of dwellings providing concrete advice for efficient energy use in buildings
• A set of tools for decision-makers in the housing sector (housing associations, municipalities,
planners) and energy utilities (e.g. district heating companies) to improve the quality of social
housing on the one hand, and energy services on the other hand
For further information please contact the partner in your country:
Austria
KWI Consultants & Engineers
Andreas Karner (Project Manager)
ka@kwi.at
Inter-university Research Centre for
Technology, Work and Culture
Wilma Mert
mert@ifz.tugraz.at
Jürgen Suschek-Berger
suschek@ifz.tugraz.at
ACE Group
Dr Adil Lari
office@acegroup.at
Bulgaria
Sofia Energy Centre
Eveline Stoykova
estoykova@sec.bg
Czech Republic
Cityplan spol. s.r.o.
Monika Mechurova
Monika.mechurova@cityplan.cz
Lithuania
Lithuanian Energy Institute
Dr Darius Strazdas
dariokas@isag.lei.lt
Slovak Republic
Energy Centre Bratislava
Roman Doubrava
doubrava@ecb.sk
United Kingdom
Energy for Sustainable Development Ltd. (ESD)
Robert Clark
robert.clark@esd.co.uk
Visit our project website at: http://www.isees.info

Download: project presentation