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WP1 Consumer Insights - A Segmentation Analysis of Households’ Reasons for Changing their Heating Systems


Citation Beckhelling, J. WP1 Consumer Insights - A Segmentation Analysis of Households’ Reasons for Changing their Heating Systems, ETI, 2017. https://doi.org/10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000853.
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Author(s) Beckhelling, J.
Project partner(s) Energy Systems Catapult Limited, Loughborough University, Bonamy Finch
Publisher ETI
DOI https://doi.org/10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000853
Download SSH_SS9004_2.pdf document type
Abstract This project is part of the “Smart Systems and Heat” Phase 1 Business Model Development Project. It will provide insights into consumer behaviour relating to heat decisions. The project will be made up of four small pieces of consultancy work looking at specific issues:
  • Consumer Response & Behavious Analysis
  • Literature Review Personality and Risky Heat Decisions
  • Household Heating Design Aids
  • Segmentation Analysis
This report contains the analysis carried out by Loughborough University on the data from the Consumer Response & Behaviour Project (CRaB). This analysis evaluated whether a segmentation could be developed to predict the reasons why households changed their heating systems.

Three different analysis attempts were made; however, the best of the models only correctly predicted 55% of the reasons for changing the boiler. The method used and results are set out in this report

The categories most frequently predicted by each analysis are generally the reasons chosen by the most householders. This suggests that the independent variables have little predictive power to predict thereasons for changing the boiler. It seems that, based on this sample, householders change their boilers either when they have broken down or when they are about to break down,regardless of the demographic characteristics of the households, or the technical features of their homes. The best predictors of when the boiler is changed could be variables such as whether the householder thinks is it going to break down soon, whetherit will last another winter, how badly it will affect them if the boiler breaks down before it is changed
Associated Project(s) ETI-SS9004: Smart Systems and Heat (SSH) Programme - Consumer Insights
Associated Dataset(s) No associated datasets
Associated Publication(s)

Decarbonising energy with higher levels of customer service - Presentation

ETI Insights Report - Smart Systems and Heat - Consumer challenges for low carbon heat

ETI Insights Report - Smart Systems and Heat - Decarbonising Heat for UK Homes

Infographic - Consumer Insights

List of projects for the ETI Smart Systems and Heat (SSH) Programme

SSH Stagegate 1 - Review of International Smart Systems and Heat Initiatives - Final Report

WP1 Consumer Insights - Behavioural underpinnings of Energy purchase, use & upgrade - Literature Review

WP1 Consumer Insights - Consumer Insights Toolkit

WP1 Consumer Insights - Household Heating Design Aids - Visual Toolkit

WP1 Consumer Insights: A Segmentation Analysis of Households’ Reasons for Changing their Heating

WP1 Consumer Insights: Exploratory Data Analysis for ETI

WP1 Consumer Insights: Literature Review Personality and Risky Heat Decisions - Behavioural underpinnings of Energy purchase, use & upgrade