Energy Efficiency Solutions for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises †
1
International Energy Research Centre, Tyndall National Institute, Cork, Ireland
2
School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
3
Fundación CIRCE—Centro de Investigación en Recursos y Consumos Energéticos, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
4
Istituto di Istruzione Professionale Lavoratori Edili, 40127 Bologna, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the Sustainable Places 2020, Online, 28–30 October 2020.
Proceedings 2020, 65(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2020065019
Published: 5 January 2021
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 8th Annual International Sustainable Places Conference (SP2020) Proceedings)
Abstract
Few small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have undertaken an energy audit to date and even fewer have taken action to implement energy-saving measures. Lack of time, knowledge, and finance, coupled with the low priority that SMEs give to energy management, are the most commonly cited barriers to effective energy management in SMEs. Four projects funded by Horizon 2020 (SPEEDIER, SMEmPower Efficiency, E2DRIVER, and Innoveas) have developed innovative capacity-building programmes designed to eliminate these barriers and encourage SMEs to undertake energy audits and implement the recommended energy efficiency measures. This paper presents an overview of the innovations being tested and suggests a series of policy recommendations that could help to drive uptake of energy audits in SMEs.
Keywords:
energy efficiency; SME; energy audit; training; energy policy
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Southernwood, J.; Papagiannis, G.K.; Güemes, E.L.; Sileni, L. Energy Efficiency Solutions for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Proceedings 2020, 65, 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2020065019
AMA Style
Southernwood J, Papagiannis GK, Güemes EL, Sileni L. Energy Efficiency Solutions for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Proceedings. 2020; 65(1):19. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2020065019
Chicago/Turabian StyleSouthernwood, Joanna, Grigoris K. Papagiannis, Erudino Llano Güemes, and Luisa Sileni. 2020. "Energy Efficiency Solutions for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises" Proceedings 65, no. 1: 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2020065019
