Community based initiatives in energy saving

Staff at PAIR have recently successfully applied for a large research grant (£945,000) from the Research Councils UK (RCUK) for research on the influence of community based initiatives on energy saving projects. The project is due to run for three-and-a-half years and will combine research in the social sciences and in engineering to further knowledge on how energy saving schemes can best be delivered. The most important element of the project includes a field experiment where the amount of energy used in households is monitored via sensors installed in participant houses.

Our Head of Department, Graham Smith, is leading the project and Clare Saunders is a co-applicant, along with Milena Buchs in Sociology and Social Policy. Other co-applicants are drawn from across the University of Southampton and also from the University of Reading. Needless to say, PAIR are delighted at the prospect of being at the forefront of such important research.