Holycross lady wants forty Tipp households for major Energise research project

A research project with a difference could change the way you consume energy

A Holycross lady is part of an NUI Galway team embarking upon an innovative and very different research programme on the Horizon 2020 funded Energise project and is looking for forty Tipperary households to jump on-board and help with the research.

Dr. Eimear Heaslip (nee Hassett), originally from Beakstown, Holycross is a transdisciplinary researcher with a background in architecture, engineering and social science. Eimear’s research interests are in the field of sustainable consumption, environmental planning and community energy planning, specifically the social and cultural consequences of transitioning to low carbon societies.

Eimear’s research focuses on exploring, describing and analysing the development of situated energy knowledges and the role of community knowledge networks in community low carbon energy transition pathways.

Daughter of Michael, former Principal of Scoil Ruain in Killenaule, and Joan, former Vice-Principal of Gairm Scoil Mhuire in Thurles, Eimear is a past pupil of the Presentation Primary School in Thurles and Scoil Ruain Secondary School in Killenaule. She graduated with honours from her Architecture degree in University College Dublin in 2007 and received first class honours and a special award for student of the year in her Masters in Environmental systems in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). Following this, Eimear completed her transdisciplinary PhD, which fused social scientific and engineering techniques in 2017. Eimear’s PhD was co-supervised by NUI Galway and GMIT.

Dr Eimear Hassett.

Having just returned from maternity leave following the birth of her son, Eimear is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on the Horizon 2020 funded ENERGISE project in NUI Galway and is also a lecturer in Environmental Planning in NUI Galway.

The innovative ENERGISE project develops, tests and assesses options for a bottom-up transformation of energy use in households and communities across Europe. Eimear has received research awards from GMIT and the Geographical Society of Ireland and has also published in Energy Research and Social Science and the Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems. She was invited to give a TedX Galway talk on her research in the Town Hall Theatre in Galway last year.

When The Tipperary Star caught up with Eimear this week, she explained why she needs forty Tipperary households to assist with this new project over an eight week period starting this Autumn. There will also be follow-up visitations early in the new year.

“The ENERGISE consortium includes ten research partners (universities, research institutes, enterprises and NGOs) from Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. ENERGISE recognises that cultural change is a key ingredient in successful energy transitions. Individual energy use is a function of who we are, where we come from, and the socio-cultural and material contexts in which we live. ENERGISE adopts a Living Labs approach to directly observe existing energy cultures in a real-world setting and to test both household and community-level initiatives to reduce energy use.

“The ENERGISE Living Labs (ELLs) will be run in 8 partner countries in the autumn. NUI Galway and Tipperary Energy Agency have joined forces to work with 40 households in Tipperary to help them reduce their energy use. For the project we are looking for enthusiastic households ready to experiment to join an international research project: more than 300 households from 8 European countries will attempt to reduce their household energy use in the framework of a challenging initiative,” she says.

The idea is to try and change energy use and attitude by way of habit and routine, rather than by introducing new technologies or mechanical options. So, for instance, by pulling on a sweater on a chilly evening rather than turning on the heat, you can making a different - but how much of a difference?

The results will be collated and presented to the many interested policy makers for consideration and you can play a part by signing up with Eimear.

“The main benefit for the household will be to see what exactly the habits and norms are showing up. They will also receive a challenge pack which will help to reduce energy and then we will be able to come up with results at the end of the process and draw conclusions,” Eimear says.

The website is: http://energise-project.eu/ and the call for participants is at this link: https://tippenergy.ie/join-energise-living-labs/

So, why not check it out and see if it is for you. With such emphasis being placed on reduced energy use, this could be just the challenge you need.