STEP-IN interview from Canale Energia – English version

Disclaimer: STEP-IN has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 785125. The present interview and its content only reflect the speakers’ view and the European Commission can and should not be held accountable. 

At the opening of the Conference, the Greek Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostis Hatzidakis, the Rector of NTUA, Prof. Andreas Boudouvis, and the President of RAE, Ass. Prof. Athanasios Dagoumas, warmly greeted the participants. The keynote speech was given by STEP-IN partner and WP leader Stefan Bouzarovski, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Manchester and Chair of the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, who analyzed the energy poverty situation in both the EU and Greece and highlighted the main challenges faced by Greece with regards to the energy poverty issue. Following, more than twenty Greek academics, researchers, representatives of consumer associations and policy-makers, shed light on different aspects of the energy poverty situation in Greece, presented new methodological tools, discussed the COVID-19 impact on energy consumption and fostered discussions on how to effectively fight against energy poverty and secure decent living conditions for the energy vulnerable households.

We would like to extend our gratitude once more to the participants, the speakers and the people who contributed to the organisation of this event.

Köszönjük!!!

11 people participated in the Energy Cafe held in Nyírbátor, with sanitary measures ensured. There was a live discussion around heating problems. Indeed, firewood is a main heating source in most of households there and proper storage of the firewood could increase its effectiveness by 30-50 percent. Unfortunately, most people can only buy firewood before the heating season, so it remains wet. Complex solutions are needed here at community level.

The opening keynote speech will be given by Dr. Stefan Bouzarovski, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Manchester and Chair of the EU Energy Poverty Observatory. Following, more than twenty academics, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders will analyse different aspects of the energy poverty situation in Greece and will foster a discussion on how to effectively combat the problem and secure decent living conditions for the energy vulnerable households.

Head over to this page (in Greek) to participate!

Realising the increasing demand of working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hero at Home arises as an educational social media campaign aiming at providing the general public useful tips regarding home energy efficiency, indoor climate, and health. From STEP-IN, experiences from the Living Labs served as useful input for such educational content, helping not only those who are spending a lot of time indoors to be more energy efficient but also those who are considered energy-poor. The alignment between the objectives of the Hero at Home campaign and the STEP-IN project resulted in the inevitable collaboration between the two. STEP-IN joins the initiative as a project whose objectives align to those of the initiative.

The campaign’s tips can be found either via Hero at Home’s Instagram or Twitter.

Click here to download our Press Release on STEP-IN participation to the Hero At Home Campaign

NTUA’s presentation, “Supporting households against energy poverty using the Living Lab approach: First evidence from the STEP-IN project“, presented the fist results from our STEP-IN project, in the context of the Living Lab approach. For more information, you can download the presentation below.

5th HAEE Presentation from NTUA partner

Authors of the presentation: Anastasios Balaskas, Ilias Doulos, Dimitris Damigos, Dimitris Kaliampakos, Nikolas Katsoulakos & Lefkothea Papada.

Around 40 participated in the Energy Cafe held in Nyírkáta, Hungary and more than half of the participants signed up for home energy visits within the scope of our STEP-IN project. The main topic of the event was “Safe and legal access to energy sources and basics of energy awareness“.

These local events provide good opportunity to access hard to reach communities. Thank you to the local municipality for hosting us and helping us organise this event!

Disclaimer: This event was organised in total respect to all sanitary and hygienic measures enforced by the Hungarian Government in order to fight against the COVID-19 virus. 

There is no general solution when it comes to deal with energy poverty, as every community faces its own challenges. During this focus group, participants and hosts discussed the local challenges in the northern part of Nyírbátor city (Hungary) with colleagues from the “Secured Beginning” programme. Besides raising the energy awareness of the households, we also have to help the community to solve their problems with energy utilities. The first step is thus to grant safe energy access to those who join our programme. The continuous dialogue between local NGOs is a key factor in the success of any community support programme.

Disclaimer: This event was organised in total respect to all sanitary and hygienic measures enforced by the Hungarian Government in order to fight against the COVID-19 virus.

Measures for home energy efficiency improvements, advices to reduce your heating costs, simple tips that only require changing some bad habits without affecting your comfort conditions and energy efficiency subsidy programs are just some of the contents of the booklet that can help you reduce your heat and electricity consumption, save money, improve your quality of life and protect the environment!

Download our booklet here (in Greek):

STEP-IN_Energy Savings Tips Booklet (Greek)