Full Project Objectives :

Objectives 5 years programme

• To gain new understanding regarding perception of RUE and RES, to improve measurement of acceptance and adaptation to changes in energy use habits.
• To explore key themes in order to maximise acceptation of the project innovation and to ensure the involvement of all stakeholders, from politicians to final end-users.
• To enhance the social acceptability of local energy generation, anticipating the impacts of the energy services approach, evaluating the consumer energy use and comfort, local trends in energy costs and savings from the project and the development of socio economic performance indicators / models.
• To contribute new scientific knowledge to help explain the difference between the theory of a repeatedly stated economically viable energy saving potential of 20% and the reality of an average 4% annual increase in consumption. This will be done integrating the results of socio-economic research with the results of building monitoring in order to be able to test the hypothesis regarding the relation between perception, experience and actual energy use and conception.

Description of work

• Define socio economic research and performance indicators.
• Define key target groups through a stakeholder analysis, with possible differentiated focuses in Lyon and in Zaragoza.
• Pre-installation/development (2005/2006): Empirical investigation of public/stakeholder support for new energy technologies and services in the locality (economic, environmental and social-psychological aspects). To include where relevant, assessment of relevant experiences and attitudes to RES/RUE, awareness about environmental issues.
• Main phase (2006-2008): Monitoring of public/stakeholder engagement processes.
• Post-development evaluation (2008-2009): Empirical investigation of public/stakeholder evaluations of the impacts of development (economic, environmental and social). Analysis of the community perspective of the project impacts and benefits to define attitudes, satisfaction, acceptance and modification of behaviour before, during and after the project.
• To integrate the results of socio-economic research with building energy monitoring: to test the relationship between perception, experience and actual energy use.
• Assess and refine the above approaches based on the stakeholder analysis.
• Development of specific proposals / models regarding community acceptance and ‘buy in’ to RUE and RES.

Management overview