Consultancy Centres and Pop-Ups as Local Authority Policy Instruments to Stimulate Adoption of Energy Efficiency by Homeowners

• Main Authors: Frits Meijer, Ad Straub, Erwin Mlecnik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: policy instruments; energy efficiency; business models; consultancy centres; customer journey; local authorities; pop-ups; owner-occupied housing stock
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2734

The housing sector is responsible for a more than a quarter of the total final energy consumption in the EU. As the majority (70%) of the EU-housing stock is owner occupied and largely consists of single family dwellings it is understandable that many countries focus their energy saving policies on homeowners. Complementary to the national policy frameworks, regional and local authorities implement locally based policy instruments targeting specific groups and individual homeowners. In order to enlarge the effectiveness of their policy instruments and to reach the energy saving goals, frontrunner local authorities in particular are searching for ways to reach homeowners. Consultancy centres and pop-ups can be a way to make individual homeowners more aware about their energy use and stimulate them to apply low carbon technologies. The research results not only show that a wide range of business models are available to develop, structure and organise these consultation centres and pop-ups, but also that they indeed could play an important role in accelerating the energy performance of owner occupied housing. Through a pop-up or consultancy centre, public and private parties can join their forces to reach, stimulate and support the individual needs and wishes of homeowners during their customer journey to realise an energy efficient dwelling.