NWO research grant for multidisciplinary team including Vladimir Karamychev

In the project, which goes under the acronym BEL (Behaviour, Energy transition, Low income), a consortium of three universities and four social housing providers participate.

Some 2 million social housing dwellings in the Netherlands will get an energy efficiency improvement in the coming decades, to contribute to the climate policy goals. BEL studies how this change affects the low-income households living in these dwellings, and especially families facing fuel poverty and being financially unable to keep their house warm. Does their energy and other consumption change and in what direction? What happens to the number of households facing fuel poverty? Do people adjust their behaviour and what are the underlying motives?

To answer these questions, BEL exploits a holistic approach based on a unique combination of academic and practical knowledge. The research team consists of empirical economist Ioulia Ossokina, behavioural scientist Theo Arentze (both from the department of the Built Environment at TU/e), theoretical economist Vladimir Karamychev (Erasmus School of Economics) and data scientist Suzan Verberne (Leiden University). Four social housing providers enrich the team with practical knowledge and data.

Two main research directions in BEL cover (i) empirical big-data-based measurement of behavioural responses of tenants and their underlying motives and (ii) building and applying a structural model to analyse and predict effects of energy retrofitting for low-income households. In the end the aim is to develop practical tools to optimise energy retrofitting packages and aftercare in social housing.