FPRN bulletin – 15th January 2024

This report presents recommendations around how to promote and deliver clean, fair and affordable energy based upon the outcomes of a series of roundtables and workshops with citizens from across England and Wales. Recommendations are provided for policy makers, the energy sector, and others and are likely to be relevant for other regions of the world.

This paper explores whether and how energy advice can be useful in reducing vulnerability to energy poverty. The authors find that tailored, in-person advice can partially reduce energy poverty, but outcomes are limited by structural factors that are beyond the immediate influence of advisors or individual citizens.

Most existing energy retrofit programs targeting low-income households in Canada aim to facilitate access to energy upgrades although often fail to account for the livelihoods of those who need energy retrofit the most. This discussion paper explores this issue and proposes 3 retrofit program design opportunities to address this gap.

This paper presents analysis of the impact of natural cross-ventilation and building form on improving indoor thermal conditions in hot and arid climates for low-income housing. The use of good design and natural ventilation helps to improve indoor temperature and comfort and has implications for consumption of energy for heating and cooling.

The paper presents analysis of the relationship between temperatures and energy burdens in the U.S. drawing upon an 8-year panel dataset. The authors find that hot and cold temperatures have further exacerbated the disproportionate impact on energy burdens across regions and multiple vulnerable groups which has implications for policy responses and support.