posted on 2017-06-26, 11:10authored byKate Simpson
Owner-occupiers represent 63.1% of UK households (ONS, 2016); a key group to
focus attention on as a means to increase domestic energy efficiency rates (Risholt
et al, 2013). The experiences of early-adopters of measures such as external wall
insulation within this group may affect the future adoption rates, through word-of
mouth referrals (McMichael & Shipworth, 2013). Householders’ are often willing to
tolerate disruption, but unexpected delays or complications can cause considerable
stress (Vadodaria et al., 2010). Negative attitudes can develop towards a
refurbishment experience due to technological faults or internal disputes leading to
problems with workmanship (Crosbie and Baker, 2010). These experiences can lead
to dissatisfaction with the experience and potentially the refurbishment outcome in
terms of energy demand and living environment comfort. This study has followed
ten owner-occupied case study households through an energy efficiency
refurbishment process. Householders’ were interviewed pre, during and post
refurbishment over a period of one year, with a focus on the expectations and
experiences of the refurbishment in terms of process and potential changes to
thermal environment comfort and space heating energy demand. The interview
data were triangulated with measurements of internal air temperature, air leakage
tests and space heating energy use in addition to space heating energy modelling,
using a version of the Standard Assessment Procedure (2009). The findings show
that in terms of refurbishment process, measures which installers’ have more
apparent experience in, such as combination boiler or window replacements have
few unexpected events and outcomes, whereas measures such as external wall
insulation and air leakage sealing can lead to refurbishment delays or dissatisfaction
with workmanship. Two households exceeded the 2050 target for an 80% reduction
in CO2 emissions from space heating. Nine improved thermal environment comfort
levels, as supported by measurements. However the impact on householder
perceptions of disruption and workmanship may affect future uptake. Policy and
installer recommendations are made including the need for consistent policy and
urgent improvements to installer customer service, energy efficiency expertise and
skills.
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publication date
2017
Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.