Empower Health:
A Community Co-designed Weatherization and Microgrid Plan for Energy Security and Environmental Health
Shape the Future of Environmental Health — Through Practice, Policy, and Partnership
Mission
Empower Health is a community-centered research initiative dedicated to advancing health, resilience, and energy efficiency in low- and moderate-income communities. The project produces actionable evidence designed to inform policy decisions and support an equitable transition to clean energy.
Our research examines how weatherization, building electrification, and community microgrids affect household energy burdens, environmental health outcomes, and resilience to extreme weather events.
Approach
Empower Health uses community-centered and mixed-methods research approaches to design and evaluate energy interventions that improve health and resilience outcomes. The initiative combines community co-design, interdisciplinary research, and program evaluation to assess the impacts of weatherization, electrification, microgrids, and indoor environmental quality improvements. Findings are translated into evidence-based insights that inform policy and support equitable energy transitions.
From the Principal Investigator
Dr. Chien-fei Chen
With over a decade of experience leading research projects centered on energy transitions, energy burdens, the social determinants of health, and community resilience, I am honored to lead this initiative advancing research at the intersection of energy transitions, environmental health, and community resilience. Building on years of work examining energy burdens and the social determinants of health, this project brings together researchers, local governments, utilities, community organizations, and residents to accelerate equitable clean energy solutions.
Our transdisciplinary team integrates expertise in public health, engineering, policy, and the social sciences to design and evaluate community-driven strategies, including microgrids, weatherization, and electrification, that reduce energy costs, improve health outcomes, and strengthen resilience to extreme weather. Grounded in community priorities and lived experiences, this project aims to generate practical solutions and evidence that support a just and inclusive energy transition.
Our Funder
Empower Health is funded by the Wellcome Trust under the program "Advancing climate mitigation policy solutions with health co-benefits in G7 countries" (No. 227151/Z/23/Z).