Evaluating the impacts, effectiveness and success of DECC-funded low carbon communities on localised energy behaviours (EVALOC)

Gupta, Rajat (2017). Evaluating the impacts, effectiveness and success of DECC-funded low carbon communities on localised energy behaviours (EVALOC). [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-852221

This three-year project brings together an interdisciplinary team of social science and building science-based researchers to assess and explain the changes in energy use due to community activities within six selected case study projects under the Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) Low Carbon Communities Challenge (LCCC) initiative.

These low carbon community projects are evaluated in terms of their: (1) impacts (on changing individual and community energy behaviours); (2) effectiveness (on achieving real-savings in energy use and carbon emissions); (3) success (in bringing about sustained and systemic change); (4) Using a combination of 'community-led action research' and a programme of 'monitoring and evaluation' of the DECC-funded interventions. These two core elements are expressed through four inter-related work packages. While work package (WP) 1 focuses on action research with communities involving toolkit development and testing.
WP2 is about measuring, monitoring and mapping the actual environmental performance of low carbon communities, using in-use monitoring equipment, post-occupancy evaluation techniques and a web-based monitoring tool.
WP3a helps communities use their consumption and generation feedback to work towards low-carbon goals. It is linked with WP3b to facilitate sharing of results and reflection through social and community networks within and across communities.
WP4 focuses on the exchange of knowledge between different communities.

Data description (abstract)

This dataset describes the characteristics of the case study households whose energy use was evaluated as part of the EVALOC (evaluating low carbon communities) project. The characteristics include physical attributes (age, built form, construction), heating systems type and occupancy details. The dataset also shows if they received an Energy Display Monitor (EDM) from their low carbon community.

This data collection comprises (1) a questionnaire survey, essential to provide more information about physical characteristics of the dwelling such as age, built form as well as household characteristics such as family size, number of occupants, along with physical and behavioral energy saving improvements that have been deployed. Also, it includes (2) transcripts of the 30 households interviewed who had undergone community-led home energy improvements as well as (3) five year longitudinal annual data (from 2008-2012) for household gas and electricity consumption for these households.

The (4) EVALOC household energy interview template attached helped gather data on occupant habits and energy behaviors, as well as their perception and expectation related to energy use, controls, comfort and engagement with the community group.

Data creators: