Memorandum by the Energy Advice Providers
Group of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes
INTRODUCTION
1. The Energy Advice Providers Group of
the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes has established a
Domestic Energy Efficiency Advice Code of Practice. The Code of
Practice offers a clear framework for advice across the whole
of the domestic energy efficiency sector, and we commend it to
the Sub-Committee for support and inclusion in their findings.
2. This submission addresses the following
areas in which the Sub-Committee is interested:
(i) The behavioural aspects of energy efficiency
schemes—the quality and quantity of information available
on energy efficiency, and whether the public is sufficiently knowledgeable
and motivated to achieve energy savings.[6]
(ii) The funding and co-ordination of research
into energy efficiency measures in the domestic and industrial
sectors, and how well research is transferred to applications.
BACKGROUND
3. The Energy Efficiency Partnership for
Homes (EEPfH) is a network of over 250 organisations from the
public, private and voluntary sectors. By working together we
aim to reduce energy consumed by UK households as well as the
number of people who need to spend more than 10 per cent of their
disposable household income on energy (the "fuel poor"),
in line with the Government's commitment to the eradication of
fuel poverty amongst vulnerable households by 2010 and amongst
all groups by 2016.
4. The EEPfH has 19 Sector Working Groups.
The Energy Advice Providers Group (EAPG) exists to improve the
quality of advice given to the public about energy use in the
home.
5. A key achievement of the EAPG has been
the establishment of the Energy Efficiency Advice Code of Practice;
providing organisations with guidance to ensure they provide high
quality energy advice. This submission looks at the supporting
evidence for the benefits of providing energy advice, and profiles
the Code of Practice.
6. The EAPG defines domestic energy advice
as that which is "specific to individuals and their circumstances
and aims to improve energy efficiency and achieve affordable warmth".
This can involve some or all of the following activities:
(i) Gathering information from customers;
(ii) Diagnosing the customer's problem;
(iii) Explaining options to solve the problem(s);
(iv) Recommending further action that customers
can take to improve energy efficiency;
(v) Accessing information about specific
products;
(vi) Accessing information about specific
energy efficiency measures;
(vii) Completing home energy assessments;
(viii) Making referrals to other organisations;
(ix) Demonstrating how to use energy efficiency
measures to gain maximum benefit; and
(x) Advising customers on energy efficient
products.
Energy advice does not include the distribution
of leaflets and other general information.
DOMESTIC ENERGY
EFFICIENCY ADVICE
CODE OF
PRACTICE
7. The Domestic Energy Efficiency Advice
Code of Practice was developed in response to the Benefits of
Advice Research by EAPG (see below), with cross-industry consultation
and support. Since April 2004, the Energy Saving Trust has taken
ownership of the Code, with EAPG acting as a steering/advisory
body.
8. The Code of Practice sets minimum standards
for delivering transparent and accurate domestic energy efficiency
advice to customers. The standards within the Code of Practice
are designed to ensure that an advice organisation/ provider is
well run and has its own quality control mechanisms in place.
9. Any organisation wishing to be seen as
having met the Code of Practice is expected to meet the standards
in the Heart of the Code, and one or more of the additional sections
depending on the way in which the advice is provided:
(i) Energy efficiency advice at point of
sale: applicable to organisations that give advice about specific
products at the selling stage of the supply process, eg retailers.
(ii) Advice when installing energy efficiency
measures: applicable to installers.
(iii) Face-to-face advice, not in the home:
applicable to organisations that give advice on their own premises,
at exhibitions, trade shows and presentations.
(iv) Advice provided in all non face-to-face
situations: applicable to organisations that give telephone, written
and electronic advice.
(v) Energy efficiency advice in the home:
applicable to organisations that provide home visits for the purpose
of giving energy efficiency advice.
10. The Code of Practice was launched on
1 October 2003. In the first year, 58 organisations have demonstrated
full compliance, including Energy Efficiency Advice Centres, energy
suppliers, local authorities, grant administrators, installers
and retailers.[7]
A further 64 organisations have expressed an interest in the Code
and have begun the sign-up process.
11. A "specifier" category of
membership will be introduced later this year. It will be aimed
at organisations that don't give advice directly to the public,
but outsource this service to a third party. Specifiers will be
invited to commit to the Code of Practice and sign a declaration.
Several large organisations have shown their support for the Code
of Practice by specifying that their contracted advice providers
are compliant, including Defra with Warm Front grant administrators,
and the Energy Saving Trust with Energy Efficiency Advice Centres.
12. Promotional activity to date has concentrated
on the industry, to build a good base of compliant advice providers
before embarking on consumer-facing activities. Consumer-facing
promotion, coupled with an easy to identify logo or brand, is
anticipated to take place in 2005.
BENEFITS OF
ADVICE RESEARCH
13. In 2002, the EAPG commissioned research
to identify the most effective delivery mechanisms for providing
energy efficiency advice and to discover what actions consumers
took as a result of advice. They also wished to identify the benefits
that consumers noticed from following advice. It was the first
research to apply a common methodology of evaluation of energy
advice across all delivery mechanisms and all significant advice
providers.
14. The research was carried out through
1,900 telephone interviews with people who had received advice
from a variety of energy advice sources (eg Energy Efficiency
Advice Centres, fuel companies, local authorities, fuel poverty
projects). A small-scale self-completion survey was also carried
out among 35 homes where a Home Energy Report had been issued
to prospective buyers of homes by the surveyors acting for their
mortgage company.
15. The results clearly show that advice
works. The research showed that all types of advice can produce
useful financial savings and/or improvements in people's comfort,
warmth, environmental conditions and even health, where people
take note of and follow that advice. Key findings include:
(i) 85 per cent of consumers can remember
getting that advice and can recall what topics it covered.
(ii) 70 per cent of consumers who receive
any advice on measures do install some of the recommended measures
within nine to 15 months, sometimes with the aid of grants.
(iii) 75 per cent of all behavioural advice
is followed in some way.
(iv) 63 per cent have benefited from warmer
and more comfortable homes
(v) 34 per cent reported lower fuel bills,
rising to 47 per cent among those who received written reports
and verbal advice.
(vi) 23 per cent report an improvement in
health.
16. The research concludes that energy advice
can play a major role in changing people's awareness of the opportunities
to save energy and money, and to improve their housing conditions
and health. It recommends further expansion (and improvement)
of energy advice services in order to enable them to fulfil their
potential.[8]
17. Other recent research supporting the
benefits of advice includes:
(i) "Energy Monitoring Project for Lighting—Final
Report", National Energy Services, June 2004.
(ii) "Delivering Real Warmth: User Behaviour
in Energy Efficient Homes", Association for the Conservation
of Energy, May 2004.
(iii) "Savings from Behavioural Changes
following Energy Efficiency Advice", New Perspectives, April
2004.
(iv) "Warm Front—Controls",
National Energy Action, March 2004.
PRESSING NEED
FOR ACTION
18. The EU Directive on the Energy Performance
of Buildings, which must be translated into national law by January
2006, will provide a major challenge for the energy efficiency
sector.
19. Two of main measures for the domestic
sector have a major impact on energy advice provision:
(i) the introduction of an energy performance
certificate to be available whenever a building is constructed,
rented out or sold; and
(ii) regular inspection of boilers over 20kW
and, where systems are more than 15 years old, the provision of
advice.
20. The Certificate, combined with the requirement
for advice provision to owners of old heating systems, provides
an excellent opportunity to highlight the importance of effective
energy use. For the energy report to achieve real results it must
be trusted by and useful for the customer. Organisations compliant
with the Code of Practice will ensure quality advice from trained
staff at all levels. Similarly, if the heating advice is provided
by advisors following this code, it will be more effective at
motivating people to take action and reduce their energy consumption.
21. Defra have also been asked develop a
Climate Change Communication Strategy[9]
to ensure consistency of messages. Given the proper consideration,
this strategy could provide a further opportunity to promote energy
efficiency advice and facilitate a step-change in consumer behaviour.
CONCLUSIONS
22. The Domestic Energy Efficiency Advice
Code of Practice sets minimum standards for delivering transparent
and accurate domestic energy efficiency advice to customers. It
has cross-industry support and growing number of organisations
are compliant with the standards it sets.
23. Research shows that advice works. 85
per cent of consumers remember getting advice, and 70 per cent
of them go on to install some of the recommended measures. 75
per cent follow behavioural advice.
24. The introduction of Energy Performance
Certificates, as required by the EU Directive on the Energy Performance
of Buildings, will inform a much larger proportion of householders
about the possibilities of improving the energy efficiency of
their homes. The opportunity to capitalise on this by providing
good energy advice must not be missed. Without properly resourced
energy advice services, offering advice to the standards set out
in this Code, those householders will not be motivated to adopt
the energy saving strategies required to achieve the Government's
targets.
25. Improving the energy efficiency in the
domestic sector and actively encouraging behaviour and attitude
changes to energy use are essential elements for any future energy
policy. The best appliances and technology could be installed,
but if not used effectively, then the savings claimed by government
departments will never accrue. It is in the best interests of
the public purse to ensure that energy efficiency advice delivered
using the Code of Practice is an integral part of programmes using
public funding
26. We therefore urge the Sub-Committee
to adopt the inclusion of customer focussed energy advice and
the Domestic Energy Efficiency Advice Code of Practice.
6 We stress the difference here between information
and advice. Advice is specific to individuals and their circumstances
and aims to improve energy efficiency and achieve affordable warmth,
and is more beneficial than mere information. Back
7
Details can be found of the Code of Practice Register on the
website at www.goodenergyadvice.org.uk Back
8
A copy of the Executive Summary of this research ("Benefits
of Advice", Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, 2002),
and an accompanying consumer leaflet, can be found on the EEPfH
website at http://www.est.org.uk/partnership/sector/swg.cfm?group-id=3. Back
9
www.defra.gov.uk/news/2004/040820a.htm Back
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