Retrofit or Behaviour Change? Which has the Greater Impact on Energy Consumption in Low Income Households?

What is the most effective way to help low income households use less energy? Is it best to target the building in which they live by upgrading its thermal envelope, its lighting, its heating and cooling system, or its hot water system? Or is it more effective to focus on educating the householder and facilitating energy efficiency through behaviour change? Or is a combination of the two required? This paper presents the results of a randomised control trial that compares changes in energy consumption in 320 low income Victorian households which underwent different combinations of retrofit and behaviour change interventions. The results show that households which underwent retrofit only interventions reduced total energy consumption by 7.1% and were 1 °C warmer in winter; households which underwent a combination of retrofit and behaviour change interventions reduced gas consumption by 18.6% and total energy consumption by 11.4%; households which underwent behaviour change only interventions did not show a noticeable improvement.