Abstract
Abstract Retrofit has been described as one of the major engineering challenges of the twenty-first century (Kelly 2009). However, the industry needs to look beyond regarding the problem as restricted to the physical upgrade of properties. Asset managers, engineers and installers work on and in people’s homes and, in many cases, are subsequently changing the way householders use their homes to meet their comfort and wider energy needs. Here we consider how the twin issues of adopting and living with retrofit technologies have affected groups of residents in social housing. We discuss issues of trust, social norms, engagement and concern that have shaped the adoption process, as well as investigating the everyday experience of living with new configurations of energy consumption. The findings have relevance not only for the social housing sector but also raise questions as to how to effectively deliver programmes such as the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation within the UK.
Highlights
The domestic sector accounts for more than % of carbon dioxide emissions generated by more than million homes in the UK (Swan et al 2010)
The findings are explored following the processes that retrofit programmes are experienced by the households, from pre-installation to in-use
We look at the experiences arising around what people consider the drivers to adopting retrofit measures, as well as those aspects that are seen as barriers in some way
Summary
The domestic sector accounts for more than % of carbon dioxide emissions generated by more than million homes in the UK (Swan et al 2010). Rising energy costs have led to increasing levels of fuel poverty in the UK (Hills 2012), with energy prices predicted to rise by 34 % for gas and 54 % for electricity over the 10 years (Ofgem 2009). Given these twin issues of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel poverty, the sustainable retrofit of the existing domestic stock is predicted to play a central part of the UK’s strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (Boardman 2012; Ravetz 2008). A MORI poll undertaken for the UK government, which investigated the decisions related to the adoption of cavity wall insulation with householders, highlighted a wide range of reasons for non-adoption (HM Government 2010) ranging from a lack of understanding and knowledge to sheer apathy, highlighting the challenge faced by policy makers
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