Energy use in everyday life – Results of an owner occupier survey

As part of the UK government sustainability agenda a target of 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 based upon 1990 levels has been set. To achieve this, the carbon footprint of existing housing must be addressed by capitalising on energy efficiency and the installation of low and zero carbon technologies. There are two inter-related issues that need to be considered: physical improvements to the performance of existing homes; and changes to lifestyle to support sustainable living. Considering that, due to the very low demolition rates currently observed approximately 70% of the housing stock in 2050 will comprise of that which already exists, 27% of the UK’s CO2 emissions are directly attributable to housing and 68% of all UK housing is privately owner occupied, UK government policy must engage with the private owner occupier if its emissions target is to be met. Average figures suggest that 3000kWh/annum of electricity is used in the housing sector which masks a variability of less than 500 to more than 10,000 kWh/annum. This variability suggests that many households are already living in ways which achieve the government target and are able to manage their homes in such a way that results in significantly reduced energy consumption than the average figures suggest. Thus energy variability arises largely from the way occupants manage their home, so by understanding how homes are occupied; how lifestyle, activity patterns, the building fabric and how the use of technology impacts on energy consumption and quality of life, we will start to decipher this variability and help promote energy reducing practices to other private owner occupiers which do not sacrifice current standards of living. This paper will present a critical review of a desk study and the findings of a telephone survey of privately owned and occupied homes within the southeast of London. The survey will investigate the daily activities and patterns of occupation, how technology influences such activities and impacts quality of life and attitudes towards energy consumption and conservation and what roles occupant behaviour, building fabric and technology play in that. The paper will identify the factors that could support the governments’ climate change agenda to influence the energy consumption practices of private households and identify the role household technology and occupancy behaviour have in determining energy reducing solutions

"My home is my castle - and it better be warm" – Difficulties in reducing energy consumption in the household

One of the biggest challenges of today is to achieve environmental sustainability. Reducing energy consumption in the private realm is of prime importance, considering that 27% of all carbon emission stem from domestic households (HM Government, 2006). Space heating reflects the largest share of private energy use with 53%, followed by appliances and lighting (22%) and water heating (20%), making these the most relevant areas to address (HM Government, 2006). In fact, in recent years, most energy suppliers have started to provide their customers with information on how to reduce energy consumption, and gadgets such as energy monitors are easily available. Yet, consumption needs to decrease further to meet the ambitious targets defined by the Climate Change Act 2008 (http://www.theccc.org.uk/about-the-ccc/climate-change-act). One question that arises is how much energy consumption can be reduced without impacting negatively on personal comfort. We addressed the question what comfort means and how people feel about their level of comfort in a study among social housing tenants in England. Participants were asked to define what comfort in the home means to them and how satisfied they were with the comfort their home provided. In a survey, their current behavioural practises with regard to energy consumption were assessed, together with a variety of related variables, such as perceived knowledge on energy saving and environmental awareness Participants also gave information on how they operated their heating system. The data was completed by assessing the stock condition and average energy consumption. Preliminary data show that “warmth” was the most important aspect of comfort, followed by security, space and privacy, and cleanliness. Likewise, discomfort was most often ascribed to coldness and drafts. The questions on current practices revealed that most participants took positive actions to reduce their energy consumption, such as turning off appliances completely. The study also revealed that many participants were unsure on how to most efficiently operate the heating system. Taken together, three important factors emerged that make energy reduction in the household difficult: Firstly, personal comfort is mainly determined by warmth. Secondly, behaviours other than cutting back on heat are already performed to a large extent. Thirdly, information on how to best operate the heating system are missing. The implications of these results for landlords and energy suppliers are discussed, with emphasis on how to use this information to reduce energy consumption in social housing

The role of routine maintenance in improving the sustainability of existing social housing

The current UK social housing stock accounts for approximately 20% of total UK housing. Maintaining this stock costs approximately £1.25 billion per annum (excludes improvement grant). However the effectiveness of this expenditure against the sustainability agenda is questionable. The theoretical models used for determining maintenance need (the stock condition survey) and prioritising maintenance works (funding availability) are primarily economic based and do not generally address the wider sustainability issues associated with environmental and social impact. Also, they have proved largely ineffective in addressing changing demands placed on social housing and have resulted in a significant quality backlog. Further, although the Decent Homes Standard has attempted to address this quality backlog, its reliance upon existing theories has resulted in very little improvement to the environmental performance of existing homes. Thus, a new theoretical approach to built asset maintenance that considers the sustainability agenda is urgently required. The extent to which routine maintenance (both planned and responsive) can be used as a vehicle to improve the quality of social housing in a way that addresses the sustainability agenda (environmental, social and economic impacts) is one focus of a 5 year research programme (EPSRC – IDCOP) underway in the UK. This paper will present a critical review of the theory underpinning built asset maintenance (based on a desk study and questionnaire survey of key industry figures) and identify the weaknesses in the theory for addressing the sustainability agenda. In particular the paper will: consider how the sustainability agenda impacts built asset maintenance strategies;identify the limitation of the current strategies; and outline a new theoretical basis for built asset management that integrates the sustainability principles into maintenance strategies (both responsive and planned

Routine maintenance and sustainability of existing social housing

Improving the sustainability of the housing stock is a major challenge facing the UK social housing sector. UK social housing accounts for approximately 18% of total UK housing and generates maintenance costs in the region of 1.25 billion pounds per annum. The extent to which routine maintenance can be used as a vehicle to improve the overall sustainability (social, environmental and economic) of existing social housing is one focus of a 5 year EPSRC funded research programme. This paper reports the findings of a questionnaire survey examining current social housing maintenance practices and attitudes towards sustainability. The research found that, whilst the stock condition survey is the favoured format for determining maintenance need and economics the basis for priority setting; neither systematically addresses wider sustainability issues; and, whilst cost is a major barrier to more sustainable solutions being adopted, landlords are able and have the desire to improve their practices

"I don't want to give them my brain for the day . . . and then take it back": An examination of the coach-created motivational climate in adult adventure sports

In contrast to cross-sectional age trends of declining adult participation in sport, engagement in adventure sports is increasing among adults. The coach may have an important role to play in shaping the motivational climate to encourage and retain participants in adventure sport. The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth examination of the coach-created motivational climate in non-competition focused adult adventure sport by adopting a multiple methods approach. The study was grounded in a multidimensional theoretical perspective that combines achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1984; Ames, 1992) and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Questionnaires, interviews, and observations of coaching sessions were employed to assess coaches’ (N=6), participants’ (N=25), and observers’ perspectives on the empowering and disempowering nature and features of coaching sessions. Analysis of the data demonstrated consistent views that the coaches’ created a strongly empowering and only weakly disempowering climate. Insight was gained about why and how coaches created this climate as well as the challenges they experienced in maintaining an empowering climate for adults in adventure sport contexts. The place of structure, control, relatedness support and coaches’ philosophies is discussed

The coaching process of the expert coach: a coach led approach

The purpose of this study was to engage expert coaches’ in an exploration, conceptualisation, and modelling of their coaching process. Six coaches, each developed a model, with accompanying explanation, of “their” coaching process. These models and explanations were content analysed to identify features of the coaching process and included examination of how to represent the process pictorially. The coaches were then interviewed where they discussed the identified features and how to represent their coaching process as a “realistic picture”. As a result of this process of data collection, analysis, and member checking, the coaches’ conceptualisation of the coaching process and how best to model it was agreed amongst participants. There were seven core principles that underpinned the model: learning partnership; individualised; clear structure with evolving process; orchestrating approach; influenced by coaching environment; holistic and flexible process; and adaptable and dynamic; and six component parts that described the operationalisation of the coaching process: values, knowledge, and skills; contextual constraint; learning environment; preparation phase; performance phase; review phase. The agreed upon pictorial representation of their coaching process brought the process “to life” and provides researchers, coaches, and coach developers with a conceptualisation of the process by coaches for coaches

On the accuracy and hardware requirements of cordic based phased array calibration

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On the accuracy and hardware requirements of cordic based phased array calibration

Abstract included in text