Current Research Projects

The project is utilising the Age Action Alliance (AAA) as a means of identifying and supporting older households on fuel poverty and energy efficiency issues. It is identifying best practice for DECC ahead of the Green Deal and ECO commencing and will join up the fuel poverty and energy saving ambitions of DECC with DWP’s new indicators of material deprivation for older people introduced in their Family Resources Survey.

CESP scheme evaluation - Riverside Housing

NEA has been commissioned to undertake a full monitoring and evaluation of a CESP scheme operating on a housing estate in Kingston upon Hull.

Customer-Led Network Revolution

LCNF is an Ofgem administered fund of £500m in total that will be spent over the course of five years. The fund aims to incentivise network and customer facing innovation in the area of demand management and will subsidise demonstration projects which aim to explore and resolve some of the big issues we face as we set up and run smart electricity grids for the future.

Green Deal and ECO pilot

How will local communities and individual householders respond to the Green Deal? What advice and support is needed for households to understand the change over from existing schemes to the Energy Company Obligation? How will customer confusion be avoided to maximise uptake? These are just a few of the questions currently being asked by many local authorities and organisations involved in the fuel poverty and climate change agendas.

Green Deal: Advice for vulnerable consumers 2012

The Green Deal and new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) will be introduced to British households from Autumn 2012 with the intention of facilitating improvements in domestic energy efficiency and improved warmth for households.However, it is likely that many vulnerable citizens may not be aware of, or are unwilling to approach the advisory bodies or services that exist or may be established in the future to advise on the support available to help heat their homes affordably.It is also possible that the advice provided by any new advice bodies might not be suitably tailored for vulnerable people.

SEMANCO

The SEMANCO research project is co-funded by the FP7 "ICT systems for Energy Efficiency" program of the European Union. It began in September 2011 and will last three years. There are nine partner organisations working on the project from Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Smart Meters

National Energy Action (NEA) and Consumer Focus are concerned that some vulnerable consumers may struggle to access some of the benefits that smart metering offers. People with physical or mental health problems, and those with low levels of literacy or numeracy, for example, may find it harder to understand the IHD and how it works, and hence successfully take advantage of its benefits. NEA and Consumer Focus wish to help vulnerable consumers to engage positively with the smart meter and in-homes display (IHD) and help enhance the user experience, thus encouraging customers to engage with smart metering.