Topics related to Consumer Behaviour, Polices and Programmes:

1. Lifestyles  and  Consumer  Behaviour:  looking  ahead  at how  demand  for  new  products  and services  is developing;  exploring  the scope  for changes  in consumer  behaviour  by fostering energy sufficiency  and changes in life style. Influence of feedback systems. The role of social norms and nudges towards more sustainable behaviours. Users’ acceptance and responses to new technologies, services, designs and energy‐saving programmes.   Role of public databases, digital product passports and open linked data in better applying behavioural science, and increasing benefits of energy labelling and other policies for consumers.
2. Global   Climate   Change   Mitigation   Policy:   impact   and  role  of  residential   technologies, programmes   and  policies  in  NDCs,  green  investment   scheme  (GIS),  carbon  credits,  and recycling revenues of ETSs. Electrification of buildings. Role of the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment  in efficient cooling. Electrification  and decarbonisation  of the residential  sector. Risk analysis. Impact of climate on residential energy demand. Residential buildings resilience and adaptation to climate change. Are domestic appliances and lighting “pulling their weight” in the global effort to meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets? Why continue to pursue appliance EE in light of grid decarbonization?
3.  Focus   on   Developing   Countries   and   Emerging   Economies:   different   approaches   and strategies, policy frameworks, institutional aspects, implementation mechanisms, financing instruments, capacity building needs, establishment of testing labs, new international partnerships. Appliances and Lighting in a Just Energy Transition
4. Strategies  for Increasing  Efficiency:  new  policy  tools,  voluntary  vs. mandatory  approaches, such as building energy codes and building energy and/or environmental rating systems, policy analysis  and  evaluation,  stimulating  innovation  (nationally  and  internationally),  new programmes  and  barrier  analysis,  strategy  development,   priority  setting,  monitoring  and review.
5. Standards and Labels (mandatory, voluntary, endorsement label and quality marks): design of and evaluation  of programmes,  impact  of programmes,  engineering  and statistical  analysis, the importance of compliance and enforcement, searchable databases, implementation of the EU Eco‐Design and Energy Labelling Directives, Japan Top Runners, ENERGY STAR. Regional harmonization efforts. Electronic/digital labeling.
6. 6Measurement   Methods   and   International   Harmonisation:   role   of   international standardisation bodies, harmonisation of test methods as a means of enhancing trade opportunities, convergence of test methods, new generation of test methods for intelligent appliances and equipment, harmonizing around efficiency “tiers” rather than common specifications.
7. Market  surveillance   and  enforcement   mechanisms:   are  products  actually  performing  as advertised   or  labelled?    If  not,  what  are  the  means  for  ensuring   compliance   and  the consequences of non‐compliance?   This would include not only mandatory programmes like energy  standards  and  building  codes,  but  also  compliance  with  voluntary  market transformation programmes such as Energy Star. Use of new tools such as QR Codes and databases to simplify the MVE process.
8.  Market Transformation Programmes: programme design and implementation, promotion campaigns,  advertising  campaigns,  tools for information  and advice for multipliers  and end‐ users, other tools to promote the market transformation, role of public procurement.
9. Smart Meters, Data Analytics, and End‐use Metering programme design, analysis methods, campaign results, non‐intrusive methods, NIALM, advanced meters, informative billing, role of home automation for saving energy. Artificial Intelligence.
10. Demand  Response:  electricity  tariffs  for the residential  sector  (e.g. time‐of‐use,  peak time, critical peak pricing, real‐time pricing), automated response by “smart devices” (e.g., smart thermostats),   direct  load  control,   programme   design,   programme   evaluation,   successful examples. Load shifting to increase the integration of renewable energy generation. The requirements  and potential of bidding aggregated residential load directly into the wholesale markets. Role of aggregators
11. Energy Services, Energy Efficiency Funds, Demand Side Management  and ESCOs: provisions of energy services, utilities’ obligations, white certificates, DSM programmes,  ESCOs’ role and potential in the residential sector, dedicated energy efficiency funds and credit lines.
12. Programme   and   Policies   Monitoring   &   Evaluation:   methods   for   the   monitoring   and evaluation of programmes and policies, indicators, benchmarking, top down and bottom‐up methodologies. Evaluation of energy and carbon savings.
13. Designing  for  Diversity  and  Energy  Poverty:  Examples  of  programs  or  policies  that  have succeeded  in  reaching  diverse  and  underserved  populations,  including  lower  and  middle‐ income households, non‐native language speakers, households with lower educational attainment, or households of diverse race/ethnicities. Energy Poverty.
14. Sustainability and Non‐Energy Benefits and Impacts: wider sustainability, including water and resources consumption, life cycle analysis and eco‐design, sustainability standards, waste implications during and at end of product life, impacts on job creation, fuel poverty, and innovation. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impact. Benefits or potential drawbacks beyond   energy   savings,   such   as   grid   and   building   reliability   and   resilience,   and   new experiences  and living  conveniences  from innovations.  Indoor  indoor  environmental  quality quality (IAQ) and other health impacts.
15. Financing: incentives, innovative solutions for financing (on‐bill, on‐tax, PACE, etc.) efficient residential  building,  building  refurbishment,  renewable  energy  sources,  large  scale deployment of efficient appliances and equipment.
16. Home  and  Residential  Building  Retrofit  Programmes:  selection  of  efficient  equipment  in home retrofit programmes (e.g., HVAC, lighting), implementation of retrofit programmes, consumer acceptance, financing, role of installers and manufacturers, One Stop Shops.
17. Communities,   Cities  and  Aggregation.     Residential   energy  solutions   combining   multiple homes, at the community, utility, or city level. Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and local energy communities.
18. Impact  of Energy  Law  on  Energy  Efficiency.  Interpretation  of energy  legislation,  including binding parliamentary acts, regulations, such as EU regulations affecting energy efficiency, energy‐related norms and standards and their interpretation in EU, Member States’ and other Courts of Law.
19. Circular Economy and European Green Deal. The interplay of energy efficiency laws, norms and  standards   and  the  emerging   law‐making   on  circular  economy.   The  importance   of reparability,  including  the  newly  proposed  EU  Directive  on  common  rules  promoting  the repair of goods. Embodied carbon and toxics/harmful substance

Topics Related to Specific Technologies:

1. Residential  Appliances/White  Goods  (Refrigeration,  Laundry,  Dishwashing,  Cooking): components’ efficiency, R&D and innovation, technologies, test methods, usage patterns, programmes, market trends, the influence of product energy and resource usage feedback systems on behaviour, connected and smart appliances.
2.  Residential  HVAC  and  Water  Heaters  (Central  Heating  Furnaces  and  Boilers,  Heat  Pumps, Central  and  Room  Air‐conditioners,  Fans,  Solar  heaters),  Water  Heaters  (gas,  electric  and solar), and Water Circulation Pumps: R&D and innovation, technologies, test methods, programmes,   market   trends,   links  to  non‐domestic   markets.   Indoor  air‐quality.   Role  of evaporative coolers and district cooling/heating.
3. Indoor Environmental Quality: Residential air handling units, smart ventilation equipment, Germicidal  Ultraviolet  Disinfection,  filters,  air  purifiers,  sensors/low  cost  monitoring equipment.
4. Electronics:   (Televisions,   Set  Top  Boxes,  Streaming   services,  Power  Supplies,  Telephony, IoT/Home Automation/Home Security), Home Office Equipment, Broadband Communication Equipment, and Low Power Modes: R&D and innovation, technologies, test methods, programmes, market trends, stand‐by losses, active and low power mode, technology transfer from non‐domestic markets
5. Residential  Lighting  and  controls  systems  (Luminaires,  control  systems  and  Light  Sources): LEDs, OLEDS, R&D and innovation, technologies, test methods, programmes, market trends, lighting usage, lighting integrated with other building systems, distribution  and perception  in the residential sector.
6. Motor  Technologies  for  appliances  (motors  for  air‐conditioners,   fans,  washing  machines, refrigerators,  circulation  pumps,  etc.) and Motor  Control  Technologies  (VSDs,  power electronics): R&D, technologies, test methods, programmes, market trends.
7. Valuing  Efficiency  as  a Distributed  Energy  Resource  and  Smart  and  Clean  On‐site  Power Generation:  micro‐generation,   fuel  cells,  renewable  energy  sources  (solar,  wind),  energy storage   (batteries),   charging   of   electric   vehicles,   electricity   distribution   issues   for   the residential sector, efficiency as a resource, smart and flexible appliances.
8. Net  Zero  Energy  Residential  Building  and  Positive  Buildings:  specific  HVAC  equipment  for passive houses (very low energy houses), integration of equipment and appliances with whole building  design,  passive  techniques,  high  efficiency  ventilation,  renewable  energy  sources, thermal energy storage.
9. Smart Meters, Smart Appliances, Home Automation, Smart Homes, Home Robots and Smart Grids: smart appliances and equipment, smart meters and communication protocols, home energy management systems, households to be a key part of the smart grids, with storage, on‐ site generation and demand response/flexibility. Electric vehicles and implications for home energy systems, Domestic networks (security, automation, etc.) and their impact on energy consumption, Internet connected appliances. Low consumption modes and sensors. Robotic appliances   such  as  floor  cleaners,   mowers,   telepresence   robots,   robotic   toys,  personal assistant robots.
10. Off‐Grid Appliances  and Energy Access: technologies  (e.g. PV, batteries, integrated  systems, clean  and solar  cooking,  refrigeration,  cooling, etc.),  micro‐grids,  local DC networks  and DC appliances.