Energy research project integrates design, anthropology

Researchers in the UK are looking for volunteers to help them with a project designed to study how people use energy in their homes, and how they can reduce their consumption.

The LEEDR (for Low Effort Energy Demand Reduction) project at Loughborough University needs 20 household volunteers who live within 10 miles of the campus. Participants have to be willing to take part in the project for the next three years.

Being run with the support of E.ON, O2 and AlertMe, the LEEDR project is aimed at finding ways to help the UK meet its 2050 carbon emissions reduction goals. The goal is to “integrate energy monitoring with design and social anthropological understanding of household energy use.”