Aimee Ambrose

Improving energy efficiency in private rented housing: Why don't landlords act?:

The private rented sector in England contains some of the least energy efficient properties in the country and houses more vulnerable households than any other sector. Occupants endure dangerously cold homes and fuel poverty but have no direct influence over the energy performance of their homes. The choices that occupants make regarding energy are constrained by the material characteristics of a property: something only the landlord can alter. Enduringly poor conditions in the sector indicate that an initiative that convinces landlords of the benefits of improving energy efficiency remains elusive. Based on a review of existing research and 30 interviews with landlords, this paper identifies factors which deter landlords from acting to improve energy efficiency. Factors include lack of knowledge regarding the consequences of energy inefficiency and possible solutions, the absence of direct financial incentives (the principal–agent problem), local housing market and cultural factors. It also identifies a number of motivating factors that may encourage landlords to invest in energy efficiency. It is argued that policies to tackle energy inefficiency in the sector should take account of these factors in order to improve effectiveness.

Inside the eco-home: using video to understand the implications of innovative housing

Abstract As a method of qualitative research, video offers a means of looking into the world of a respondent and a means of stimulating a dialogue, both with the respondent and others. Video requires, however, the application of additional ethical procedures and may also increase refusal rates, if it is publicly disseminated. Applied to the home, the use of video reveals both practice and identity. Video records practice, showing how the spaces within a home are used at a particular time. For this reason, video is well adapted to understanding the implications of living in a home with an innovative design and technology, with all the complexities that this commonly involves. Equally, video communicates the appearance of the home and of its occupants to whoever is watching. Video is, therefore, intimately connected to identity and the home as a place.

The contemporary landscape of fuel poverty research

A key aim of this special issue has been to showcase the breadth of approaches to fuel poverty research emanating from a growing international community of fuel poverty researchers and in doing so, to promote awareness of the range of disciplinary areas influencing contemporary fuel poverty research. Overcoming established disciplinary and methodological siloes represents a considerable challenge for the future of the field and may be key to offering those in policy and practice the clarity and comprehensive insights that they need to fully understand and respond effectively to the problem.

Editorial: PPP special issue – International Perspectives on Fuel Poverty

Despite the commitments of successive UK governments to end fuel poverty by 2016, over ten per cent of UK households were deemed to be in fuel poverty in 2015 (DECC, 2015). Although comparisons over time have been rendered virtually impossible by changes to the way fuel poverty is defined and measured, it is clear that the target of fuel poverty eradication remains elusive., The winter of 2014/15 saw excess winter deaths reach their highest winter levels since 1999/00 (ONS, 2016). Evidence suggests that around a fifth of these 43,500 deaths are attributable to cold homes (Marmot Review Team, 2011) and are entirely preventable. However, excess winter deaths are only part of the picture and fuel poverty is a longstanding and pervasive health issue contributing to wider social and health inequalities. We remain far from a solution to this great social injustice which disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in society.