Elsevier

Energy Research & Social Science

Volume 4, December 2014, Pages 21-22
Energy Research & Social Science

Short communication
Energy information engagement among the poor: Predicting participation in a free workshop

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.08.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Although one option for increasing low-income consumer knowledge regarding household energy use is the development of free or low-cost educational workshops, exactly how to promote attendance for such workshops remains an open question. Here we briefly outline results from a set of in-depth interviews with applicants to the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program in Durham County, NC, USA. Models predicting intended attendance at workshops or community meetings suggested that factors such as utility costs, social norms, perceived ability to plan ahead, and perceived accessibility of energy information all matter more than one's general attitude toward energy workshop attendance. Many respondents expressed interest in energy education materials and faced challenging utility costs, but meeting attendance appears to be constrained by the everyday life obstacles of the poor.

Section snippets

Methods

We conducted face-to-face interviews (n = 61) with applicants to the Durham County, NC (USA), Department of Social Services Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. (We interviewed applicants separately from the application process and interviewees were not necessarily eligible for assistance.) Respondents received an LED flashlight for their time.

We focus in this brief on analysis of closed-ended items regarding participant intention to attend future energy workshops or meetings. To account for

Participant description

Participants ranged in age from 24 to 78, with a median age of 43. They were mostly female (90%) and African-American (96%). Median annual household income was less than $20,000 (US); 64% reported less than $20,000 in annual household income. Most (87%) rented their residence and nearly half of all participants lived in a freestanding house.

Living experience

The majority (57%) of participants reported living in a home that was “drafty” most or all of the time during most recent winter. Most (75%) also reported

Conclusion

The low-income participants in our study reported considerable need for weatherization and expressed interest in receiving energy education. At the same time, however, predictive models of intended engagement with educational meetings suggested noteworthy constraints on meeting attendance. Although general attitude toward energy education workshops did not predict future attendance, personal circumstance, community norms, and perceived accessibility of energy information all played predictive

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank other members of the team: Emily Conner, Drew Howard, and Sidharth Sharma. Sheree Knight and staff members with Durham County Social Services graciously facilitated data collection. Duke University's Bass Connections in Energy program funded this project and staff members of Duke's Energy Initiative were helpful, including Kyle Bradbury, David Doctor, Steve Hicks, and Richard Newell, as were Dan Curry and Ann Roy.

References (7)

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