Abstract The quality and quantity of life are linked inextricably with methods of harnessing and utilizing energy. Our future prosperity does not depend solely upon the progress made by scientists and engineers: it can be secured only when energy-use and energy thrift become components of the knowledge-base of the average person. At present, few individuals are so equipped, because ‘energy’ (as a subject or discipline) has not been promulgated in a coherent manner within our educational system. For example, in the UK, energy education has been treated in a disparate manner within the curricula of primary and secondary education, whilst being considered in depth only in the engineering disciplines within tertiary education. This paper reviews UK energy education in the context of creating a more energy-effective European Community. In particular, the UK's provision of tertiary energy education is discussed. An analysis is presented of the case for coordinating education within each built-environment discipline (ie, architecture, building technology, building surveying and building-services engineering) around the topic of ‘energy efficiency’.