Post on 22-Feb-2016
description
OVERCOMING STRUGGLES OF RESEARCHING FUEL POVERTY FOR A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMEFuel poverty in policy and practice – a postgraduate symposium 16th November 2012
Structure The struggles and how I have dealt with
them when conducting research on fuel poverty Multidimensionality and interdisciplinary The fuel poor Situated in a varying policy and commercial
landscape
My PhD The overall aim is to critically evaluate community-based
fuel poverty initiatives and their capacity to address access to energy services for older people
1. What rationales are given for improving access to energy services for older people through locally-based fuel poverty initiatives? 2. What understandings of older fuel poor people are held by different actors in locally-based initiatives (including the residents) and how are these reflected in the way improving access to energy services is tackled? 3. How do older people that have been assisted by locally-based initiatives evaluate their experience and how are forms of social relationship implicated in the experiences that older people have of fuel poverty assistance schemes?
My PhD methodology Policy analysisCase study of organisations providing assistance to the fuel poor in a local area
Interviews with the organisation Shadowing/observation of the energy advice
team Observations, telephone interviews and semi-structured interviews in the home with older people that have received help from the case study organisation
Causes
Fuel poverty
Energy prices
Income
Energy efficien
cy
1. Multidimensionality
Consequences
Impacts of cold homes or fuel poverty
Poor mental health
Fuel debt
Heat or eat
conundrum
Social isolation
Negative impact of educatio
nal attainme
nt
Excess winter deaths
Cardiovascular illness
1. Multidimensionality
2. The fuel poor
LanguageFuel poverty or…
Affordable warmth
Energy vulnerability
Struggling to pay energy bills
Energy poverty
Unable to heat their homes to adequate temperatures
affordably
Older people or…
Elderly
Over 65s
Old people
Senior citizen
2. The fuel poor
My PhD
Larger research project
EDF energy R&D
Case study
organisations
3. Relevance
Finally…