With more and more Zambian households connecting to the electricity grid, the country is looking for new ways to promote sustainable energy use. This project demonstrates the positive impact that consumer behaviour and the use of efficient technologies can have on energy consumption at the national level.

To start, the project conducted an in-depth study on energy consumption and production in Zambia. One of the study’s key findings was that not only were the majority of Zambian households willing to buy energy efficient appliances, nearly half said they would pay more for such appliances.

This study served as a foundation for a series of simulation exercises on how building energy efficiency at the household level impacts energy consumption at the national level. The project also used this work to develop a curriculum on energy consumption and behaviour, which has since been incorporated into a university’s architecture programme.