Charlotte Shields

BA MA

  • Doctoral Researcher

Research groups and centres

Research and expertise

My research investigates the socio-cultural barriers and motivations to successful UK heat pump uptake by exploring the lived experience, heating patterns, use and perceptions of occupants with heat pumps compared with conventional boilers.

As an Anthropologist, I have experience in qualitative ethnographic enquiry involving interviews, survey techniques and innovative participant led research methods as well as qualitative analysis and inductive coding. I am also familiar with quantitative data analysis and building modelling techniques thanks to the ERBE CDT.

Current research activity

  • 2020-23: Transitioning from Gas and Oil Boilers to Heat Pumps: An exploration of the socio-cultural lived experiences of a heat pump compared with conventional boilers. Supervised by Prof. Victoria Haines and Dr David Allinson. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy Resilience and the Built Environment.

Recently completed research projects

  • Summer 2020: Pilot Study – Transitioning from Gas and Oil Boilers to Heat Pumps: An exploration of the socio-cultural lived experiences of a ground source heat pump compared with gas and oil boilers. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy Resilience and the Built Environment.

Profile

I am interested in the interface between physical objects and human behaviour, and the role of socio-cultural factors in the success of technical climate change interventions.

The final year of my BA in Anthropology at Durham University, I began to appreciate how cultural meanings attached to the landscape could prevent positive climate action. My master's dissertation developed a visual experiential analysis method to map the experience of walking down any given streetscape, exposing the role of building layouts in the enjoyability of walking.

I have since worked in social innovation, residential planning and market research, and aim to draw attention to the subjective lived experience of individuals in the development of products and policies designed to mitigate the climate crisis.