A strategic niche management framework to scale deep energy retrofits

Mass deployment of deep energy retrofits (DERs) is essential to drive the building stock transition to net zero. However, the rate of DER adoption remains extremely low, as existing financial, technical, regulatory and social systems favour piecemeal retrofit approaches. To address this issue, this paper applies strategic niche management (SNM)—a core theory in transition studies that focuses on creating ‘niches’ to help novel technologies gain momentum—to understand the role ‘transition intermediaries’ play in scaling DER. Specifically, three mass DER initiatives are explored that use an industrialised overcladding approach: Energiesprong in the Netherlands; RetrofitNY in New York, US; and REALIZE-MA, in Massachusetts, US. The study examines how each intermediary has addressed regionally specific barriers and opportunities to industrialised DERs through a systematic, iterative SNM framework of niche formation processes. These include choice of technology, selection, design and scaling up of the experiments, and the breakdown of protection mechanisms. SNM could be used as a practical tool to analyse and inform interventions to accelerate DER adoption in diverse jurisdictions. Furthermore, the importance of intermediaries is vital for catalysing transformations to secure a healthy, resilient, high-performing and environmentally responsible building stock.