The last few summers have broken temperature records, and forecasts indicate that this trend will continue. European statistics show that up to 19% of households reported not being comfortably cool in summer (Eurostat, 2012 - this question was asked only that year). It is increasingly urgent to address the population's adaptation to heat and cooling needs, and overheating risks must be incorporated into the energy poverty equation.
Not all households have an air conditioning system, and it is known that energy-poor households make restrictive use of heating and cooling, as they cannot afford associated energy bills. In this context, COOLTORISE has worked to raise awareness of summer energy poverty and has implemented actions to mitigate it, with a double benefit for households: firstly, by increasing their thermal comfort through passive strategies, helping them to avoid exposure to extreme summer temperatures, minimising their energy consumption; and secondly, by avoiding the installation of air conditioning, which increases urban temperatures and worsens global warming.
The main achievements of the project include:
● Highlighting the need to address energy poverty not only in winter but also in summer, making great advances to put the summer energy poverty in the European agenda. The project has set the common framework of energy poverty among Southern European Countries, identifying existing regulations, definitions and methodologies. The project has generated new knowledge on summer energy poverty, particularly in relation to its complex nature, involving variables related to the built environment, the surrounding infrastructure, and the behavioral patterns of the population. It has highlighted the urban dimension as a key feature to reducing summer energy poverty. It has been highlighted that reducing urban heat might have a positive impact on indoor thermal conditions. And, given the relevance of usage patterns, the work done through participatory assessments should be integrated into urban analyses for adaptation to overheating.
● The project has defined a wide set of solutions to tackle summer energy poverty: optimal housing using patterns in the hot season, key strategies to optimize energy bills and access to social tariffs, and installation of low-cost solutions to reduce indoor overheating and increase thermal comfort. In addition, innovative and challenging outdoor interventions to mitigate the urban heat island and cool down the surrounding urban areas were carried out as well. With these activities, the project has worked on recovering the value of the traditional culture of heat.
● The project has trained 381 people to become Summer Energy Poverty Agents, which worked with energy-poor households and helped them improve their living conditions. Among these agents, 65% are professionals who have improved their skills and acquired new knowledge to put into practice in their continuous professional life.
● A total of 8,361 people has engaged with COOLTORISE and have benefited from it, alleviating their vulnerability towards summer energy poverty conditions.
● Women’s empowerment has been addressed in the project to revert the feminization of energy poverty. Activities carried out have facilitated women’s participation, having a representation of 65% of the total engaged people.
