A practice–theory approach to homeowners' energy retrofits in four European areas

Abstract

This article examines whether and how energy retrofitting of owner-occupied dwellings can be understood within the framework of social practice theories. Practice theories help to shift the focus towards more collective approaches and practices, rather than towards individuals. In addressing this question, energy retrofits are described and their variability compared in four European areas: Denmark, Latvia, the Coimbra area in Portugal and Wallonia in Belgium. Although these areas have different geographical, cultural and housing contexts, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) provides a common form of regulation. As a policy, its main underlying intention is to promote the opportunities for energy retrofitting. Based on an analysis of 60 in-depth interviews with homeowners, it is found that energy retrofitting is not an integrative practice in 2010, despite the EPBD and other efforts to enforce such a practice. This lack of a retrofitting practice exists for a variety of reasons: it is not sustained by common and conventionalized routines, and by shared know-how and goals among relevant actors (e.g. homeowners and craftsmen). Based on practice theories, novel policy recommendations are provided to help to constitute an energy-related renovation practice in detached owner-occupied houses.

Keywords::

• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD)
• energy refurbishment
• homeowners
• policy measures
• practices
• retrofit
• social practice theories

Acknowledgements

A previous version of this article was presented at the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE) summer study 2011. The authors are grateful to three anonymous referees for their comments.

Funding

This article draws on a first comparison between 10 European countries in a larger Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) research project (IDEAL-EPBD: Improving Dwellings by Enhancing Actions on Labelling for the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive; grant number IEE/07/600/SI2.499426; see http://www.ideal-epbd.eu). The Research Centre on Zero Energy Buildings, supported by the Danish Council for Strategic Research, contributed by financing some of K. Gram-Hanssen's time for a reinterpretation of the interviews.

Notes

1 In 2008–11, the IEE funded the IDEAL-EPBD research project (Improving Dwellings by Enhancing Actions on Labelling for the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive) (see http://www.ideal-epbd.eu).

2 The SEREC research project (Socio-technical Factors Influencing Residential Energy Consumption) was financed in 2004–06 by the Belgian administration for research policy. It included a comparison of households with energy labels in Denmark and Belgium (Bartiaux et al., 2006; Gram-Hanssen et al., 2007).

3 Most fiscal rebates were suppressed in 2012 by the Belgian federal government.