Professor John Hills was commissioned in March 2011 by Chris Huhne MP, then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to conduct an independent review of the fuel poverty definition and target. The terms of reference included examining fuel poverty from first principles, including its...Read more
This study examines the links between under-occupancy and fuel poverty in private sector housing by: (1) Reviewing national data primarily from the English House Condition Survey 1996 (EHCS), and the English House Condition Survey 1996 Energy Report, along with other publications and research...Read more
Interview with Brenda Boardman, author of seminal work on fuel poverty in 1991, which provided the foundations for current energy poverty research.Read more
Throughout the industrialised world, fuel poverty is the most commonly accepted term with which to describe a household's inability to afford basic standards of heat, power and light. Whilst the term gained widespread acceptance with the publication of the UK's Fuel Poverty Strategy in 2001,...Read more
This paper outlines why the definition of fuel poverty is important in policy formulation and describes how the Government's current definitions evolved from the original concept. It discusses the determination of income and fuel costs and the possibilities for a relative and common European...Read more
Deploying heating technologies, such as air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), can respond to the dual challenges of tackling fuel poverty and reducing carbon emissions from domestic energy consumption. In the UK, ASHP performance has been found to be below design levels. Elements of three strands of...Read more
This paper aims to shed new light on a much neglected area of equity issues embedded in the use of environmental goods and their links with an equally under-researched issue of the practical capacity of communities. The main focus of the paper is on the equitable distribution of opportunities...Read more
Extreme weather events, including heat waves, are predicted to increase in both frequency and severity over the coming decades. Low house building rates and a growing population mean there is a need to adapt existing dwellings. Research presented here uses dynamic thermal simulation to model the...Read more
This project examined the feasibility and desirability of Social Impact Bonds as a funding instrument for fuel poverty alleviation activities, exploring the required technical, financial and institutional arrangements. The main outcome of the project was a report that provides policy-makers,...Read more
Fuel poverty has been most commonly researched in the UK although it is experienced in other parts of Europe, to varying degrees. Boardman (1991) showed that energy inefficient buildings and heating systems are the most significant components of fuel poverty and highlighted the legacy of older...Read more
