Single-family house owners’ perception, experiences and behavioural barriers in retrofitting their home. A case study from Ticino, southern Switzerland.

Castri, Roberta (2012) Single-family house owners’ perception, experiences and behavioural barriers in retrofitting their home. A case study from Ticino, southern Switzerland. In: 3rd International Sustainability Conference, 29.09.2012-31.09.2012, Basel, Switzerland. (Unpublished)

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Energy-efficient upgrading of the existing housing stock depends significantly on whether private house owners decide to undertake energy-related retrofitting measures or not. This implies that the supply-side of the market promoting sustainable retrofit measures, needs to turn skilful enough to positively influence the demand-side in favour of energy efficient upgrading of buildings. Services need to be user-friendly, neutral and warrant of quality, reliability and transparency. Compared to traditional repair and maintenance measures, energy efficient retrofits represent, however, a more intricate assignment. The decision-making process by the house owner becomes thus a complex, but crucial passage towards the greening of the building sector and energy advice services turn into potentially precious tools for promoting behavioural changes in favour of sustainable retrofit projects1. As the “Energy check-up” advice service run by the Institute of Applied Sustainability to the Built Environment (ISAAC) represents a well-established decision-making tool for energy-efficient upgrading of single-family houses in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, an assessment of this service was carried out. The survey involved 111 households and explored owners’ attitudes, behaviour and experiences in energy-related retrofit projects. This allowed to gain an insight on how energy advice services are perceived and their recommendations implemented on the field by the key actor, as well as to identify some barriers, latent potentials and strategic implications for industry, policy-makers and energy advice services.

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item