Adoption of Energy Efficiency Measures in Renovation of Single-Family Houses: A Comparative Approach

Shoaib Azizi,Thomas Olofsson,Gireesh Nair

doi:10.3390/en13226042

Abstract

Inclusion of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) in the renovation of the single-family housing stock can unlock the potential for much-needed energy efficiency to tackle climate change. Energy renovation (ER) in single-family houses is often promoted as an aggregate process, and EEMs are treated homogenously without sufficient attention to their differences. This study applies a comparative analysis on common EEMs using chi-square test to investigate the influence of factors already found affecting the implementation of ER. This paper addresses the “personal” and “house-related” factors influencing the adoption of EEMs regardless of motives or barriers leading the adopters’ decisions. This strategy is useful to highlight the contexts leading to an increase in the adoption rate of different EEMs. The analysis is based on a questionnaire survey mailed in spring 2017 to 1550 single-family homeowners in the northern region of Sweden. Approximately 60% of respondents showed interest in adopting at least one EEM if they implement a major renovation. About 46% of respondents stated to have at least one indoor environmental problem (IEP) in their houses, and IEPs are found to have significant relations with homeowners’ interest to adopt several different EEMs. The policy implications related to different EEMs are discussed.

Highlights

Buildings are a major sector responsible for global warming as they account for 30% of the world’s final energy use [1], and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) [2]
Our study shows that efficiency measures (EEMs) are influenced differently by the context of adoption
The policies should facilitate the simultaneous adoption of several EEMs when homeowners intend to implement renovation

Summary

Introduction

Buildings are a major sector responsible for global warming as they account for 30% of the world’s final energy use [1], and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) [2]. These shares are even larger for the European building stock, which are responsible for 40% of final energy use and 36%. In addition to the policies at the European level, Sweden has undertaken several initiatives to drive and facilitate energy-efficient renovation in the building sector [7]

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