COOLTORISE launches summer energy efficiency workshops in Barcelona

Training courses on energy bills and heat culture have been distributed in several neighborhoods and have been attended by about 60 people

During the months of June and July, months that have been particularly hot, workshops on energy culture of the European project COOLTORISE have been held in Barcelona and the metropolitan area in order to inform interested people about energy bills and give advice on heat culture. With energy prices on the rise, many people are limiting their use of air conditioning or fans and are looking for ways to keep their homes at the right temperature without increasing energy costs. For this reason, the Bienestar y Desarrollo Association (ABD in Spanish) and Ecoserveis trained volunteers to act as SEPA agents and thus be able to advise people who need it. After acquiring the knowledge, in June and July it has been the turn to put them into practice with sessions in different neighborhoods of Barcelona and surroundings in which 60 people have participated.

The first training sessions were held in the Llacuna neighborhood and continued in the Raval, in Santa Coloma de Gramanet, and also in ABD resources such as Preinfant, the CAS in Sarrià and Sants, in the homes with services for the elderly Reina Amàlia I and II and Glòries, and in Comunitat Activa in Hospitalet de Llobregat. 

ABD is grateful for the collaboration of neighborhood associations and their federation FAVGRAM, as well as ABD’s services and programs that have wanted to offer training to users in order to guarantee their energy rights. In September, the activity will be resumed with the training of new SEPAs and other project activities.

COOLTORISE

COOLTORISE is a European project coordinated by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid with the partners ABD, Asociación Ecoserveis, AISFOR, Comune di Parma, Sdruzenie Tzentar za Ustoychivost likonomichesko Razvitie – MOP, Obshtina Peshtera and Vilabs OE.

It is funded by the European Commission focused on solving summer energy poverty (Horizon 2020 Program for Research and Innovation) and its main objective is to reduce the incidence of summer energy poverty among European households, improving indoor thermal habitability conditions and reducing energy needs during the hot season. This is intended to reduce heat exposure and related health risks, especially among people in vulnerable situations.