During the ongoing second summer of the COOLTORISE project, ViLabs, in collaboration with its subcontractors, has been actively working to provide assistance to vulnerable households in coping with the challenges posed by coping with the heat. By conducting a series of targeted workshops and distributing helpful indoor kits, COOLTORISE aims to educate and empower households in various vulnerable municipalities to efficiently manage their dwellings during the hot summer months.
Starting from June, summer energy culture workshops were organised in several vulnerable municipalities across Greece. The main objective of these workshops was to offer households valuable guidance in efficiently managing their homes during the summer season. The focus was on encouraging behavioural changes that would leverage cooling passive strategies to protect the most vulnerable members of society, such as kids and the elderly, from the risks of heat exposure.
In addition to the energy culture workshops, a series of energy bills workshops were also conducted. These workshops aimed to empower participants with a better understanding of their energy bills, including the various tariffs and charges. By understanding their energy bills, households could make informed decisions on energy consumption and potentially identify ways to reduce their energy costs.
The above two categories of workshops were specially conducted in elderly centres, recognising that elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat.
Furthermore, to directly improve the summer conditions of participating households, indoor installable kits have been distributed. These coolkits were designed to enhance comfort and help families endure the summer heat more comfortably. The kits included practical items such as electric fans, LED bulbs for energy-efficient lighting, cooling towels, and sun shields.
The workshops were a great success. So far, 15 workshops have been conducted with more than 250 participants to be engaged. The participants expressed their enthusiasm for learning alternative ways to stay cool during the summer and gaining insights into energy bill management.
The activities are planned to continue in September, with outdoor interventions to be taken place aiming at dropping the microclimate temperature and hence helping houses to benefit from this fresh air.
