More and more consumers are getting savvy when it comes time to buy an automobile. They understand what fuel efficiency means, they know what a hybrid vehicle is, and “lightweight components†is not just fluffy terminology – it’s a factor that consumers know helps reduce consumption of fuel.
But what about the appliances under their own roof? Or even the roof and the construction of the home itself, for that matter? Do consumers realise how and where they could save money and reduce greenhouse gases – based on the efficiency of their appliances and home insulation? Where can consumers go for information about energy savings relevant to their very own situation?
Part of the “Climate Seeks Protection†campaign of co2online is a set of online tools that give consumers free, customised information about, for example, the efficiency of their circulating pump, to see whether their heating bill is “reasonable†(and what the causes and solutions are for it), and/or compare the efficiency of their refrigerator or freezer with a new model. Each month, consumers complete 50,000 to 100,000 advice sessions.
Climate Seeks Protection, launched in 2004, provides free, simple and reliable tools and advice for individuals wishing to measure their household energy efficiency.
Primarily financed by the German Federal Environmental Ministry, one component of the Climate Seeks Protection campaign is a group of automatic, online advisors. Developed for use across Europe, using a very easy pull-down menu approach, online users can get customised information and do self-checks on heating, retrofitting, cooling, household appliances, green power or circulating pumps.
In less than five minutes, a consumer can type in data regarding his own circulating pump, including basic information such as the age of his building, the pump type, the pump manufacturer, and daily running time of the pump.
A diagnostic summary is then generated, which tells the user, for example if his pump is operating at maximum efficiency. Or, depending on thedata entered,it might advise a user how much electricity he can save by switching the pump to a lower power setting and reducing the operating time of the pump by night or in summer.
Dr. Johannes Hengstenberg, founder of co2online, said that he was always looking for partners interested in offering the tools in their countries. “We don’t think it’s a good idea to internationalise our national German campaign, but it absolutely makes sense to adapt our tools so that they work in other countries,†he said.
Three years ago, the co2online office consisted of two people in a small office 15 minutes (by bike) from Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. Today, thanks to the success of the programme, co-funded by the German Environmental Ministry, the not-for-profit effort has blossomed to two 12-person teams that keep the services running.
Founders hope that more national partners in EU member states will become inspired to adapt the co2online advisor box to national conditions and find portal partners – especially media websites – to multiply advisor usage. The more citizens that use this free service, and use it to its full advantage, the better off our environment will be for future generations.
For more information visit: www.co2online.de/summary_en.html. Co2online is looking for preferably non-profit climate change campaigns in other countries to co-operate on adapting and integrating the online-advisors.
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