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Barriers and drivers to energy-efficient renovation in the residential sector. Empirical findings from five European countries

Panel: 5. Saving energy in buildings: The time to act is now

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Veronique Beillan, EDF R&D, ICAME Department, France
Andreas Huber, European Intitute for Energy Research, Germany
Battaglini, IRES, Germany
Aurélie Goater, Alpheeis, Germany
Ines Mayer, European Intitute for Energy Research, Germany
Régine Trotignon, ADEME, France

Abstract

In a lot of European countries the share of existing old buildings –built before the first heat-conservation regulation and heated on fossil energy- is large. Thus, these buildings represent a huge potential for energy saving but which is hard to exploit. Achieving this challenge depends not only on technical solutions but also on socio-economic factors (willingness and skills of stakeholders, regulation and incentives, norms and values).

Our paper stems from a study involving five European countries. It aims to analyse the weight of these factors in the decision making process, and to identify the supply conditions to meet the needs of households for energy efficient refurbishment. To do so, several energy-efficient-retrofitted houses in the private sector have been selected as case studies in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France. For each case, on-site surveys have been conducted, including qualitative interviews with the owners, the residents and the involved professionals. In addition, a thorough context analysis has been conducted in each country in order to reveal specificities regarding the retrofit market, the housing building stock, energy uses.

This study allows to compare experiences and to share knowledge about support actions to boost energy efficient retrofitting. The paper will examine what policies and measures are in use in the different countries, what is the role of financial incentives, what are the different levels of action (national/ regional / local) and which are the motivations and practices of actors involved in these energy saving projects. First results show in particular that:

-people getting involved in projects of energy-efficient refurbishment aren’t mainly and exclusively motivated by energy savings;

-there’s a lack of skilled work force able to meet the requirements of energy efficient retrofitting;

-public support schemes for retrofitting measures play a crucial role;

-the local embedding of projects is important.

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