Energy epidemiology: A new approach to end-use energy demand research

Abstract

The call for action to transform the built environment and address the threats of climate change has been clearly made. However, to support the development, implementation and on-going evaluation of energy demand policy, a strong evidence base is needed to identify associations and establish underlying causes behind outcomes and variations in end-use energy demand within the population. A new approach to end-use energy demand research is presented which is founded on the interdisciplinary health sciences research framework of epidemiology, along with the establishment of a research centre. A case is made that through an energy epidemiology approach a strong, population-level, empirically based research foundation can be advanced. Energy epidemiology is a whole-system approach that focuses on empirical research and provides a methodological framework for building physicists, engineers, sociologists and economists to engage in interdisciplinary work. The adaptation of the epidemiological approach to end-use energy demand studies will provide the means to observe and describe the trends and patterns of energy demand, to undertake and contextualize interventional studies, and to establish strong associations between factors that lead to an energy demand-related outcome or event. Such an approach would strengthen the evidence base to inform policy decisions and evaluate past intervention programmes or regulatory actions. © 2013 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.