Efficient consultancy aiming at a reduction of electric power

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Efficient consultancy
aiming at a reduction of
electric power
consumption in private
households
From April 2005 to June 2007 the ifeu-Institute
carries out a research project about reduction
of electric power consumption in private
households. The project aims at the elaboration and further development of efficient
consultancy components for private households in Germany. The main focus is on “offensive” consultancy offers such as door-todoor-consultancies. The project is funded by
the BW-Plus-Programme of the German state
Baden-Württemberg.
Background information
Despite the increasing offerings of energy-efficient
electrical equipment the electric power consumption of the private households in Germany is
rising. This development counteracts the proclaimed climate protection goals. As the electric
power consumption of industry could be reduced
during the last years the electricity consumption of
the private households in Germany has risen by
12.6 % between 1990 and 2002.1 In the German
state Baden-Württemberg the private households
are responsible for 24.5 % of the total electric
power consumption.2
Reason for the households’ rising electricity
consumption are the increasing equipment with
electrical devices and in their continuous usage,
e.g. IT-devices. In addition more and more devices have stand-by-functions and households
don’t buy most electricity-efficient equipment.
Furthermore there is an increasing number of
households in Germany due to a trend for singlehouseholds, although Germany’s population
stagnates.
In order to invert the trend in electric power consumption power companies, energy agencies,
consumer agencies and environmental organisations try to make households aware by offering
consultancies and mounting campaigns, also
supported by the argument of rising electricity
costs. Many consultancies are offered in special
places and at fixed times (e.g. in customer offices
of power companies, so called “stationary consultancy”) which are used often by only a small
number of households. Broadly based campaigns
are probably reaching a large number of households.
1
BMWA: Energiedaten 2004.
Ministry of Economics Baden-Württemberg: Energiebericht
2004.
2
The European commission wants to get a broadening of energy consultancy, as the new EUdirective “energy efficiency and energy services”
shows.
Objectives of the project
Scientific partners
In this project we analyse which consultancy
programmes are best concerning their impact and
in regard to cost-benefit aspects. The interrelation
of type of consultancy (campaign, marketing
instruments plus stationary energy-consultations
or door-to-door-consultancy), its provider (energy
supply companies, consumer agencies, etc.) and
of different target groups (e.g. in regard to population structure, life style types) are also examined.
The concept of an efficient electricity saving
consultancy requires special knowledge of environmental psychology, social marketing and
gender research.
Questions are furthermore:
Social marketing applies the techniques of conventional marketing in order to support a societal
concern. Mrs Dr. Gundula Hübner (Institute of
Psychology of the University Halle-Wittenberg) is
a specialist in social marketing and a partner in
this project.
•
Is it useful to combine electricity saving consultancies with consultations about other subjects
(e.g. water or heat energy saving issues)?
While choosing the target groups for an effective
electricity saving consultancy, gender research,
should be included.
•
How much money people are willing to spend
for consultancies at their homes?
•
Is there an influence of the structure of the
ownership (owner of a house or flat, tenant) or
the structure of the households (single households, families) ?
For this aspect Mrs Dr. Doris Hayn from the
Institute of Socio-Ecologic Research (ISOE) in
Frankfurt is our partner.
Steps of the project
The first step of the project is to serve as an
analysis of the up-to-now existing consultancy
types of programmes, the experiences and the
actors of electricity saving advisory services.
Dissemination
Two workshops support the exchange of
knowledge within the actors of practical energy
consultancy. The results of this study will become
part of a manual. A catalogue of consultancy
modules offers the necessary suggestions and
instruments concerning planning and carrying out
of efficient electricity saving consultations.
In a second step we extract important modules of
successful programmes. The focus is on offensive
door-to-door consultancy, which is promising to
be more successful on the long term than simple
stationary energy-consultations.
Afterwards, in the third step, we monitor an
electricity consultancy programme, which is
organised and carried out by a partner of the
project: The Energy Agency of the region of
Heidelberg (KliBA). Furthermore the consultancy
approach is supported by the municipal utility
(Stadtwerke Heidelberg), who will send now
electricity bills, which allow comparisons to similar
households. The ifeu-institute evaluates the consultation programme and the new billing system.
Finally, recommendations for efficient electricity
saving consultancies will be given.
Contact
ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental
Research Heidelberg
Wilckensstr. 3
D-69120 Heidelberg
Germany
+49 (0) 6221 / 47 67 - 0
Fax +49 (0) 6221 / 47 67 - 19
http://www.ifeu.de
ifeu_Stromsparberatung_Projektbeschreibung_engl_fin.doc
Markus Duscha
+49 (0) 6221 / 47 67 - 18
[email protected]
Elke Dünnhoff
+49 (0) 6221 / 47 67 - 81
[email protected]