Glad, W (2012) Housing renovation and energy systems: The need for social learning. Building Research & Information, 40(3), pp. 274-289. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Installing new energy systems in housing is claimed to be a way to meet national and international goals for reduced greenhouse gas emissions. A socio-technical approach, based on social learning theory, is used to examine the energy systems of a large Swedish housing project ten years after its renovation. A significant retrofitting measure was the introduction of metering. Important lessons are identified regarding the relationships between tenants, professionals and technical systems. The inappropriate assumptions underpinning the renovation about inhabitants' capabilities and demographics meant that the dwellings were not optimally refurbished to meet user requirements, particularly with regard to the choice of technologies and inhabitants' interface with them. Many of the installations are hidden from tenants and difficult for inhabitants to discover, explore and use. Occupants did not use the technologies (smart meters, thermostats, etc.) as intended, which lowered performance and also increased occupants' dissatisfaction. This was also evident in the high levels of support needed by the inhabitants. Social learning processes are vital for the success of demand reduction strategies. Any demand reduction approach must consider people by investing in the social processes and the required learning for interfacing with technology, not merely the 'smart' technology itself.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | energy demand; housing; inhabitant behaviour; low-carbon society; post-occupancy evaluation; smart metering; social learning; socio-technical systems |
| Index terms: | demographics, inhabitant behaviour, housing, retrofitting, social process, energy system, renovation, greenhouse gas emission, socio-technical system, tenant, post-occupancy evaluation, strategy, housing project, smart meter, thermostat, user requirement, low-carbon society, socio-technical, energy demand, social learning |
| Subjects: | mechanical systems, user-centered design, construction type, practitioner, evaluation methods, energy systems, research methods, theoretical framing, sustainability assessment, renovation and retrofit, management, sociology, demography, housing and residential development, environmental health, communities and social development |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Urban Studies, Design Practice, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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