Energy-Check to Low Income Households - experience of an international co-operation

Manifold attempts are being made in European countries to tackle the problem of fuel poverty. Especially households with low income lack the capital to invest in energy or water saving technologies and often also the knowledge on the rational use of energy and water. The Energy-Check for Low Income Households European project aimed  at  establishing  tailored  information  and  consultation  approaches  to  assist  low-income households in saving energy and water.

The European project gave an example to municipalities and welfare organizations how to enable people with low income to live more energy efficiently by applying no-cost or low cost measures. The consultation implied free-of-cost installation of low-cost devices to  save  water  and  energy  plus advice for energy saving behaviour. By combining the know-how of energy experts with the skills of social economy or welfare organisations, the project helped low income households to save energy and water with no cost or low cost measures. 

The pilot projects in Berlin, Berchem, Budapest and Vienna helped these households to change their consumer behaviour. In some of the projects long-term unemployed people are trained to become energy savings advisors, so the consultation can be executed on eye-level and the advisors themselves can improve their chances on the labour market.

More information on the pilot projects, figures on the savings achieved and contact addresses can be found in the project brochure.