Between September and December 2018, the ENERGISE project team is engaged in rolling out living labs in 8 countries: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. In each country two living labs are organized: ELL 1, in which households are engaged on an individual, household by household basis, and ELL2, the community living lab in which households are invited to group events and are encouraged to interact through a social media group set up for them.
Although the living labs follow the same basic methodology in each country (see figure), there are some differences as a result of adapting the methodology to local circumstances.
Below, we provide a story on each country implementation. Please read them as an introduction as more stories and analysis of the results and outcomes will follow later.
To visit each of the country ENERGISE Living Lab sites, please go to http://energise-project.eu/node/1239
And here are the stories of the 8 countries:
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ENERGISE Living Labs in Denmark
We launder too frequently and we heat square meters instead of bodies.
Norms, ideas and practices connected to comfort and cleanliness have changed dramatically since the 1950ies. Amongst other things, this has resulted in resource intensive usages of energy, water and products. 20 households in Trekroner and 18 households in Viby Sj are trying out the ENERGISE challenges, which actively questions the frequency with which we do our laundry and the temperatures we keep to feel comfortable.
Baseline
Right after our initial visit in September, the households were busy with registering the frequency with which they do laundry, as well as the type of laundry they do. Likewise, they have monitored the temperature in their homes and assessed whether or not the temperature was comfortable to them. They have been registering these things in diaries that we brought them, and through tools that ENERGISE have provided, such as thermometers and energy meters as seen below on Image 1.
Image 2: Laundry and heating diaries
The Challenges
After about four weeks of baseline measurements, we visited the households again. This time we interviewed them in more detail about their laundry and heating related habits. Besides talking about comfort related to cleanliness and temperature, we discussed types of and access to laundry machines as well as heating systems in their homes. We also asked the households about any changes in ways of laundering and home heating that they might remember from growing up. Finally, we introduced the households to the ENERGISE challenges.
Laundry Challenge and Heating Challenge
The households are challenge to reduce their laundry cycles in half. This means that if a household runs 4 laundry cycles per week, we challenge them to only run 2. The number in itself is not overly important; what is essential is that the households consider if they really need to wash an item or if it can be worn or used longer. We challenge ideas and social aspects related to cleanliness that are generally resource intensive. This challenge runs for 4 weeks in October, followed by the heating challenge. We ask our households to reduce their indoor temperature to 18 degrees Celsius. For those who find that too cold, it can be 19 or even 20 degrees instead. The number is not in itself important here either: what is essential is that the households re-evaluate in what way heating plays a role in their ways of producing comfort within the home. It is also essential to get an idea of how easier/difficult it is to adjust and reduce indoor heating which to some extent depend on the heating systems, which varies across our households. The heating challenge runs in November.
Along with each of the challenge, the households receive a box with ideas and materials that can assist the households in coping with the challenge. For instance, the laundry-challenge-box includes artefacts that make airing out clothes easier, so that they may feel less inclined to throw it in the washer.
