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Have You Got Experience of Renewable Heat and Home Insulation?

The University of Manchester’s Public Participation Geographic Information Systems research team would like to hear from you.

Why?
We are developing a peer-to-peer or ‘crowdsourcing’ website, where people can share useful experiences and practical tips about renewable heat technologies and home insulation. Much as with TripAdvisor, people can also recommend or review products or services they have used.

Aims
The project has two broad aims: to generate discussion that helps consumers make informed choices about what is good for them; and for installers, manufacturers and other stakeholders to learn from and respond to the issues raised by individuals and households.

How Does It Work?
This peer-to-peer website allows people to share a wide variety of experiences in relation to renewable heat technologies and increasing thermal insulation in the home. The purpose of the crowdsourcing platform is to bust myths and collect real experiences from households, organisations and professionals involved with renewable heat technologies and home insulation.

Background
The research project is funded by the EU’s Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme and is part of a research consortium of five European cities, ‘Smart Metropolitan Areas Realised through Innovation and People’. The Manchester University pilot targets the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Green Deal policies, which aim to increase take-up of renewable heat technologies and property upgrades in terms of home insulation.

However, from a consumer perspective, there are many uncertainties about the effectiveness of these technologies with the existing building stock. Research has found that peer-to-peer networks can be effective in spreading information and experiences. This project aims to gather experiences in the field of renewable heat and home insulation and develop a useful resource for people interested in reducing their household carbon footprint, or taking up the RHI or Green Deal policies.

Please get in touch with Jenni Viitanen at jenni.viitanen@manchester.ac.uk for more information or to share your experiences.

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