Researchers Create Energy Saving Networks
'Reducing Energy Consumption through Community Knowledge Networks' (RECCKN) is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Keele and the Marches Energy Agency (a third sector organization).
This is one of six ESRC/EPSRC-funded projects on Energy and Communities, and is original in that it examines the potential for forming 'energy communities' rather than researching ones that already exist. It analyses the way knowledge about energy consumption and saving travels, and is shared, in two contrasting communities in the Midlands.
In collaboration with the target communities, the project team has devised and enacted a series of 'interventions' which show that face-to-face sharing of information by peers is an effective way of increasing energy efficiency. Find out more about the project here.