Researchers at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute are looking to recruit Aberdeenshire Council staff for a large scale household energy research project.

The project, led by the Institute’s Dr Tony Craig in partnership with Planning and Environmental Services at Aberdeenshire Council, has been designed to understand the effectiveness of energy monitors in raising awareness of household energy consumption.

Participating Aberdeenshire Council employees will be able to monitor their household energy consumption via an in-home display. Levels of energy use, awareness and any reductions in energy use from the adoption of this system will be compared to reduction levels measured from the adoption of other technological innovations, including online feedback and individual appliance plugs.

The project, which aims to recruit over 1,200 people in total will be one of the biggest studies of its type and will allow participants to see how much electricity is being consumed by a particular electrical item over a defined time period. “It is one thing to know how much energy a fridge uses at any given moment, but it is another thing to know how much is used within a week or month,” explains Dr. Craig.

He goes on to say, “This project will allow us to study not only how energy is used over time within households, but also how different household types use energy in particular ways. The combination of energy data and questionnaire data make this project particularly interesting and we hope that this project will give people a genuine opportunity to learn more about how they use energy in their houses, and that this will result in last behavioural change.”

Participants should register their interest at: macaulay.ac.uk/energy/

ENDS

Information for Editors:

The project is currently looking to recruit 600 participants from staff employed by Aberdeenshire Council to be in the ‘online-connected’ group within a larger study of 1,200 participants.

The study will allow people to monitor their household energy consumption via an in-home display, and will run for two years.

All participants in the study will be asked to fill in a carbon footprint calculator at the beginning of the study. This will be followed up yearly to assess any changes in a household’s carbon footprint.

In order to take part in the study, participants need to have a broadband internet connection that is ‘always on’.

The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute
The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute was founded in 1930 and is an international centre for research and consultancy on the environmental and social consequences of rural land uses. With an annual income from research and consultancy of over £14m, the Institute is the largest interdisciplinary research organisation of its kind in Europe, and aims to provide evidence to help shape future environmental and rural-development policy on a national and international basis.

Dr. Tony Craig
Dr. Tony Craig is an environmental psychologist working in the socio-economics research group at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute within the theme of values choices and behaviour. His work focuses on the relationship between psychological factors and environmental behaviour.