I am an experimental psychologist researching how we can stay comfortably warm at home without wasting energy (or money). Our houses, heating and budgets all vary and so does our individual physiology, health, heat preferences and lifestyles … even within one household.
Most research into ‘thermal comfort’ is carried out in laboratory settings or workplaces. Very little is known about what happens in ordinary life in our homes. This research project aims to find out.
We’re looking to recruit 100 UK homes of different sizes and locations and with different heating systems… from conventional central heating (gas or oil) to heat pumps to infrared heating.
The study will run for 30 days during January/February 2024. If you’d like to help us by taking part in this important citizens’ research, please complete this simple online questionnaire about your house, the number of occupants and your heating system. We will then let you know if you’ve been selected as one of the 100 households.
If you are selected, what will it involve?
(i) Completing a more detailed online survey about your household and its heating.
(ii) One or more members of your household signing up to receive 1 mobile text message each day for 30 days in January and February 2024 requesting completion of a 5 minute online survey (if you are currently at home) about how warm you feel at that moment, what heating is currently on, the room temperature and your current level of activity.
All data will be held securely and anonymised in analysis and reporting and all contact details will be deleted once the study is completed.
As this research project is self funded, there is no payment for participation. Your unique thermal comfort data, in combination with 100 other participants in different homes across the UK, will help inform both government policy on domestic heating and energy as well as future technology and product development. You will receive a copy of the research results and an invite to attend an online presentation of the results.
You can contact me to ask further questions about the project at : alison@prospectory.co.uk
Dr Alison Kidd
Experimental Psychologist
The Prospectory 