Raising summer energy poverty awareness to reduce cooling needs

The COOLTORISE project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon programme, focuses on the theme of "summer energy poverty “and thus addressing a very often overlooked aspect of energy poverty itself.

According to data collected by Eurostat (Eurostat, 2018), the statistical office of the European Union, about 19% of the population is unable to keep their homes cool enough during the summer period, and 7.3% of the population is unable to keep their homes warm. Among the main reasons are low-income, high-energy bills, and low housing efficiency. The climate is undergoing significant changes that have significant impacts on health and well-being. The increase in temperatures will have a greater impact on the most vulnerable sections of society, who will be more exposed to heat-related problems such as heat stroke or heart disease. In addition, the characteristics of buildings are becoming increasingly important. In older buildings without adequate insulation, or in apartments with bedrooms on the upper floor, high temperatures can easily be reached.

The COOLTORISE project aims to reduce the incidence of summer energy poverty among European families by improving indoor thermal habitability conditions and reducing their energy needs during the hot season. This will reduce exposure to heat and heat-related health risks.

COOLTORISE therefore aims to raise awareness of the problem of energy poverty summer, a topic that is becoming increasingly complex, providing solutions to reduce the effects of heat waves in inefficient homes and providing tools and information to enable families to keep their homes adequately cool during the increasingly hot summers.

Objectives:

• Establish a common framework on summer energy poverty in Southern European countries (most exposed to heat waves);
• Define common solutions to tackle energy poverty in the summer;
• Training 'summer energy poverty workers' who will work with the most energy vulnerable families;
• Reduce the percentage of people living in energy poverty;
• Strengthening women’s knowledge and capacity on energy consumption;

Actions:

• Selection of households in four EU countries (Bulgaria, Italy, Greece and Spain);
• Selection and training of "summer energy poverty workers" - as key figures to raise awareness about energy poverty. Operators are assessed according to their skills and will be divided into two groups: volunteers and professionals;
• Organisation of workshops on summer energy poverty;
• Planning of outdoor and indoor interventions;
• Development of a common heat wave protocol;
• Development of a communication and dissemination plan that puts the problem of energy poverty at the forefront.

Partners:

• Aisfor srl - AISFOR (IT)
• Universidad Politecninca de Madrid – UPM (ES)
• Asociacion Ecoserveis – ECOSERVEIS (ES)
• Asociación Bienestar y Desarrollo – ABD (ES)
• Comune di Parma (IT)
• Sdruzenie Tzentar za Ustoychivost Iikonomichesko Razvitie – MOP (BGR)
• Obshtina Peshtera (BG)
• Vilabs OE – VILABS (GR)