A politics of calculation: Negotiating pathways to zero-energy buildings in Sweden

Abstract

New building codes and stricter regulation of energy consumption and CO2 emissions have become key strategies to support the low-carbon transition of the housing sector. Such regulations rest heavily on setting performance targets for buildings and developing standardized calculation procedures for determining the compliance of new buildings with the building code. While developing such targets, standards and calculation tools are largely presented as a technocratic and expert-driven process; our argument is that these calculations are actually heavily imbued with politics. Empirically, the article analyses the implementation of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which makes nearly zero-energy buildings mandatory, into Swedish law. Studying the negotiations and controversies taking place in adapting the Swedish building code reveals how the power play of resourceful actors, the negotiation of interests and the different visions and valuations of what is regarded important for the future of the housing sector shape calculation procedures and how these are included in the new building code. Unpacking the political decisions and valuations underlying the calculative practices and technical details of the building code can be seen as an important step towards a more transparent public debate about the future of sustainable buildings.