Renewable Energy Installer REI Feb/Mar 17 | Page 26

Knowledge: Energy Efficiency
Knowledge: Energy Efficiency
Nudgeathon to find ways to cut energy use
Students will be competing to come up
with energy saving ideas using ‘nudge
theory’ in a competition at Warwick
Business School.
Inspired by Hackathons, the Nudgeathon
will see teams competing to come up with
the best idea to change people’s behaviour
so they start cutting their energy use.
Teams of six made up of students
from 24 countries will be given a crash
course in ‘nudging’, which uses theories
from behavioural science to develop
subtle interventions to persuade people
to behave how they would like to, like
persuading more households to have their
lofts insulated.
The Climate Change Act committed the
UK to reducing its carbon emissions 80
per cent below 1990 levels by 2050, which
means a reduction of three per cent each
year and will have to involve changing the
way people use energy.
Warwick Business School has teamed up
with energy supplier First Utility, Recycling
Technologies and the Interdisciplinary
Centre for Storage, Transformation and
Upgrading of Thermal Energy (i-STUTE) for
the competition that will see the winners
take home £500.
Daniel Read, Professor of Behavioural
Science, said: “The Nudgeathon will bring
creative and ambitious people together
and provide them with the information
and skills they need to design their own
nudges. The winners could well see their
idea implemented on the University of
Warwick campus, which is roughly the
size of a town with 30,000 people with
an energy bill of more than £8 million a
year emitting roughly 43,000 tonnes of
greenhouse gases.
“Insights from behavioural science are
being applied more and more both in the
public and business arenas, so this is a real
chance for people to get inspired and learn
more about the science.”
Teams will be able to pick one of three
challenges to tackle:
Reduce energy used as heat: Up to 70
per cent of energy used in UK homes is for
heating. Yet reducing temperature by one
degree can decrease energy use by seven
per cent, while much is wasted. Often, for
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example, people don’t turn their radiators
off while away; or they open windows
when the heating is on. How can we make
people manage heating well?
Reduce energy used by appliances
and devices: Having a phone, tablet and
computer always on, plugged in and
connected to Wi-Fi has become a human
right. Yet the total energy used by these
devices is growing as their numbers
proliferate. What interventions can we
design to balance the advantages of these
devices with the energy they consume?
Reduce hot water consumption: Hot
water usage is one of the most energy-
consuming areas. The mean consumption
of hot water in a British household is 122
litres per day. Maybe it’s not necessary to
shower 30 minutes twice a day or to keep
the tap running while brushing teeth.
How can we apply behavioural insights to
reduce hot water usage?
The winners’ idea will contribute to the
University of Warwick’s new Sustainability
Strategy, and will be promoted during Go
Green Week, which runs March 6 to 12.
Mark Cooper of Actis has warned of the condition of Britain’s housing stock
Actis welcomes Green Building Council’s
government insulation report
A Green Building Council report stating
that 25 million UK homes need to be
retrofitted between now and 2050 has
been welcomed by insulation expert Actis.
The report “Building Places that Work
for Everyone – industry insights into key
government priorities” says that more
than one home a minute will need to be
insulated over the next 33 years if the
government is to achieve its 2050 target of
cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent.
“The UK has amongst the worst housing
stock in the whole of Europe when it
comes to energy efficiency – and it’s
responsible for a third of our carbon
emissions,” says Mark Cooper, national
sales director at pan European insulation
specialist Actis.
“The collapse of the Green Deal and the
removal of the zero carbon standard have
not helped. And neither has the perception
that retrofitting is disruptive. It can be, but
it doesn’t have to be that bad - depending
on the construction of the house and the
type of insulation materials used.
“Loft in