The diffusion of low-energy systems: lessons from
a comparative analysis of the UK and other countries
Expected outputs
Diffusion
The project is expected to deliver three kinds of research
outputs:
Investigating the processes of diffusion for both
incremental and radical low energy innovations,
focusing upon the adoption of innovations by
users and the associated changes in practices,
meanings, infrastructures and policies
Project Lead
Prof. Frank W. Geels
University of Manchester
Researchers
Victoria Johnson
University of Manchester
The diffusion of low-energy systems poses three
challenges to existing diffusion theory:
1 M
otivations largely come from social concerns about
a collective good problem (e.g. climate change) rather
than private benefits; policy support and cultural
discourse are therefore important drivers.
2 The diffusion of systemic innovations is more complex
than of individual artefacts.
3 New systems do not diffuse into an ‘empty’ world, but
counter resistance from existing systems. We use the
multi-level perspective (see Figure 1) as background
framework for the research. Besides these conceptual
motivations, the project is also inspired by the
empirical intuition that other countries have been
more successful in diffusing low-energy systems (with
the UK focusing more on piecemeal solutions).
1 In-depth comparative case studies of three low-energy
systems.
2 Analytical contributions to diffusion theory, indicating
how combinations of diffusion mechanisms lead to
different diffusion rates.
3 A deeper understanding of economic, socio-cultural
and political barriers that hinder the diffusion of lowenergy systems in the UK, and suggestions (based on
experiences from other countries) of how these can
be overcome.
Figure 1. Multi-level perspective on systemic transitions
Research aim and questions
The research project aims to investigate the relative
importance and interaction between economic, political
and socio-cultural diffusion mechanisms (e.g. price/
performance improvements, financial subsidies,
regulations, positive cultural discourses and social support).
The key research questions are: What mechanisms drive
the diffusion of systemic low-energy innovations and what
is their relative importance? How do interactions between
these mechanisms explain different diffusion rates between
the UK and other countries for chosen cases?
Methodology
The project starts in September 2014 and will further
explore the following intuitions:
a) Successful diffusion of low-energy systems requires
multiple interacting diffusion mechanisms; the UK’s
emphasis on market mechanisms is not sufficient to
drive diffusion of low-energy systems.
b) Other countries are more successful because they
have more active governance styles (also at local
levels) and more developed social and cultural
engagement mechanisms.
c) Actors face difficulty to access finance in the UK
because of strong reliance on narrow cost-benefit
calculations.
The project aims to engage with the UK’s Energy
Efficiency Strategy, which has set ambitious goals
(bringing about an energy efficiency revolution), but
suffers from two problems:
1 T oo much emphasis on individual technologies rather
than broader low-energy systems.
2 Too much reliance on economic policy mechanisms,
which should be complemented with broader policies.
We have started to engage with DECC, the Carbon
Trust, the Energy Savings Trust, and Green Alliance
to build long-term networks that will facilitate the bidirectional flow of research findings and stakeholder
feedback.
The project uses a comparative case study design,
comparing the diffusion of light-rail systems, district heating
and whole-house retrofit/passive houses in the UK and
successful other countries (Sweden, Denmark, Germany,
France). The project uses a longitudinal case study
methodology as well as process tracing to unravel causal
interactions between various mechanisms. Data come from
a wide range of primary and secondary sources such as
interviews, government reports, white papers, academic
papers, and industry association reports.
CIED is a collaboration between researchers from the Sussex Energy Group (SEG) at SPRU, University of Sussex; the Transport Studies Unit (TSU) at
the University of Oxford; and the Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) at the University of Manchester and is one of six Research Centres on End
Use Energy Demand funded by the RCUK Energy Programme.
www.cied.ac.uk Early findings
Engagement and impact
Emergence. Diffusion. Impacts.
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