Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COOLTORISE (Raising summer energy poverty awareness to reduce cooling needs)
Période du rapport: 2021-09-01 au 2023-02-28
Eurostat data reveals that 7.3% of the total population of the European Union is unable to keep their home adequately warm (Eurostat, 2018). Caused by low household income, high energy bills, and low dwelling energy efficiency, the term has traditionally been associated with the inability of households to meet their heating needs during winter. However, up to 19% of households declared not being comfortably cool in summer (Eurostat, 2012 - this was asked only that year). Thus, cooling needs and overheating risks need to 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. However, raising awareness of summer energy poverty and implementing actions to mitigate it will have a double benefit on European households: the decrease in their risk to suffer heat-related diseases and the prevention of air conditioning devices installation that can have serious benefits on climate change.
COOLtoRISE aims to reduce summer energy poverty incidence among European households, improving their indoor thermal habitability conditions and reducing their energy needs during the hot season, which will in turn decrease their exposure to heat and heat-related health risks.
In order to achieve these objectives, some other areas will be addressed:
● Set a common framework on summer energy poverty in Southern European countries. Partners will draw a common methodology to identify the households suffering from energy poverty in the summer.
● Define 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, challenging outdoor interventions to mitigate the urban heat island and cool down the surrounding urban areas will be also carried out.
● Train energy poverty agents to work with energy-poor households and help them improve their living conditions. Once the project is finished, these people will have improved their skills and acquired new knowledge to put into practice in their continuous professional life.
● Alleviate summer energy poverty conditions of more than 7,240 people. COOLtoRISE project will engage more than 7,240 energy-poor citizens and will work with them to reduce their vulnerability towards summer energy poverty.
● Foster women’s empowerment to try to revert the feminization of energy poverty. The proposal addresses common barriers that impede the participation of women in programmed actions, such as having to take care of children or being elderly with mobility difficulties.
● Accomplish a high level of dissemination that brings to the fore the issue of summer energy poverty. This project intends to raise summer energy poverty awareness, highlighting its specificities and the need for implementing tailored solutions, schemes, and policies.
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. However, raising awareness of summer energy poverty and implementing actions to mitigate it will have a double benefit on European households: the decrease in their risk to suffer heat-related diseases and the prevention of air conditioning devices installation that can have serious benefits on climate change.
COOLtoRISE aims to reduce summer energy poverty incidence among European households, improving their indoor thermal habitability conditions and reducing their energy needs during the hot season, which will in turn decrease their exposure to heat and heat-related health risks.
In order to achieve these objectives, some other areas will be addressed:
● Set a common framework on summer energy poverty in Southern European countries. Partners will draw a common methodology to identify the households suffering from energy poverty in the summer.
● Define 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, challenging outdoor interventions to mitigate the urban heat island and cool down the surrounding urban areas will be also carried out.
● Train energy poverty agents to work with energy-poor households and help them improve their living conditions. Once the project is finished, these people will have improved their skills and acquired new knowledge to put into practice in their continuous professional life.
● Alleviate summer energy poverty conditions of more than 7,240 people. COOLtoRISE project will engage more than 7,240 energy-poor citizens and will work with them to reduce their vulnerability towards summer energy poverty.
● Foster women’s empowerment to try to revert the feminization of energy poverty. The proposal addresses common barriers that impede the participation of women in programmed actions, such as having to take care of children or being elderly with mobility difficulties.
● Accomplish a high level of dissemination that brings to the fore the issue of summer energy poverty. This project intends to raise summer energy poverty awareness, highlighting its specificities and the need for implementing tailored solutions, schemes, and policies.
During the first year of the Project and coinciding with the activities carried out during the first summer, 2879 people have benefited from COOLTORISE activities. More than 150 coolkits have been distributed and two outdoor interventions have been carried out.
More than 80% of the participants say they have learned about alternatives to cope with summer heat and avoid installing air conditioners. 52% of the participants improved their thermal comfort conditions and about 72% of them managed to reduce their energy consumption.
In this first summer, a saving of 0.24 GWh has been achieved, which represents 20% of the expected energy savings that will be accumulated annually with the savings of the households participating in the upcoming activities. This will lead to the savings targeted by the project. In addition to this, considering the rising energy prices is a very relevant achievement for the project. The overall results suggest that the COOLTORISE activities were successful in helping households reduce their energy consumption and contribute towards the project's overall goals.
Similarly, the emission reduction achieved is 188 tCO2eq which is 19% of the estimated emission reduction. The work with households in this second summer of COOLTORISE together with the accumulated emission reductions in the coming summers will achieve the goals set in the project.
The project has so far trained 178 Summer Energy Poverty Agents increasing their skills to work on the adaptation of the most vulnerable towards summertime energy poverty.
Beyond these specific numbers, COOLTORISE has reached more than 1800 stakeholders throughout the thematic events and presentation of the project.
More than 80% of the participants say they have learned about alternatives to cope with summer heat and avoid installing air conditioners. 52% of the participants improved their thermal comfort conditions and about 72% of them managed to reduce their energy consumption.
In this first summer, a saving of 0.24 GWh has been achieved, which represents 20% of the expected energy savings that will be accumulated annually with the savings of the households participating in the upcoming activities. This will lead to the savings targeted by the project. In addition to this, considering the rising energy prices is a very relevant achievement for the project. The overall results suggest that the COOLTORISE activities were successful in helping households reduce their energy consumption and contribute towards the project's overall goals.
Similarly, the emission reduction achieved is 188 tCO2eq which is 19% of the estimated emission reduction. The work with households in this second summer of COOLTORISE together with the accumulated emission reductions in the coming summers will achieve the goals set in the project.
The project has so far trained 178 Summer Energy Poverty Agents increasing their skills to work on the adaptation of the most vulnerable towards summertime energy poverty.
Beyond these specific numbers, COOLTORISE has reached more than 1800 stakeholders throughout the thematic events and presentation of the project.
In terms of the expected impacts, COOLtoRISE addresses summer energy poverty from a three-fold perspective: increasing energy literacy among consumers and stakeholders, improving dwellings' indoor comfort, and reducing households' energy consumption and associated GHG emissions. These three perspectives are complemented with a diffusion strategy, which will contribute in the long run to increase the expected impacts further from the end of this project.
The projects aims to involve 7240 consumers during its completion and up to 10 037 five years after the project ends. This impact will be achieved through the collaboration with NGOs and public entities.
Through the activities developed in the project it is expected to reduce the energy demand for household cooling together with an improvement of the comfort conditions of the dwellings. In addition to this, it is expected to avoid an increase in the number of installations of air-conditioning systems. The Project expects to achieve primary energy savings of 1.22 GWh/year during the project lifetime and up to 5.8 GWh/year in the five years after its completion. These energy savings will be associated with CO2 emission reductions of 1 004 tCO2eq during the project and up to 4 748 tCO2eq for the 5 years after the project.
The project has an important component of training and capacity building of professionals. At the end of the project 123 people will have increased their capacities with COOLTORISE and in the following five years it is expected to reach 171 people.
Finally, through events and dissemination actions, it is expected to reach 15,000 key actors and up to 20,000 after the end of the project.
Along with this direct impact on households in summer fuel poverty and key stakeholders, it is expected to have a high degree of dissemination among citizens that raises awareness of summer fuel poverty and helps them to adapt to the high temperatures. This is something crucial given the current increase in temperatures and the foreseen scarcity of resources and energy which will require passive solutions to cope with hot spells.
COOLTORISE also hopes to contribute to policy and best practice development on summer energy poverty through the publication of scientific papers, the development of public statements, and the involvement of policymakers and decision-makers. Arise awareness among Member States regarding the need for adaptation of the most vulnerable ones to leave no one behind in the adaptation process to climate change.
The projects aims to involve 7240 consumers during its completion and up to 10 037 five years after the project ends. This impact will be achieved through the collaboration with NGOs and public entities.
Through the activities developed in the project it is expected to reduce the energy demand for household cooling together with an improvement of the comfort conditions of the dwellings. In addition to this, it is expected to avoid an increase in the number of installations of air-conditioning systems. The Project expects to achieve primary energy savings of 1.22 GWh/year during the project lifetime and up to 5.8 GWh/year in the five years after its completion. These energy savings will be associated with CO2 emission reductions of 1 004 tCO2eq during the project and up to 4 748 tCO2eq for the 5 years after the project.
The project has an important component of training and capacity building of professionals. At the end of the project 123 people will have increased their capacities with COOLTORISE and in the following five years it is expected to reach 171 people.
Finally, through events and dissemination actions, it is expected to reach 15,000 key actors and up to 20,000 after the end of the project.
Along with this direct impact on households in summer fuel poverty and key stakeholders, it is expected to have a high degree of dissemination among citizens that raises awareness of summer fuel poverty and helps them to adapt to the high temperatures. This is something crucial given the current increase in temperatures and the foreseen scarcity of resources and energy which will require passive solutions to cope with hot spells.
COOLTORISE also hopes to contribute to policy and best practice development on summer energy poverty through the publication of scientific papers, the development of public statements, and the involvement of policymakers and decision-makers. Arise awareness among Member States regarding the need for adaptation of the most vulnerable ones to leave no one behind in the adaptation process to climate change.