Process perspective on homeowner energy retrofits: A qualitative metasynthesis

EU policy recognises the importance of encouraging low-carbon retrofit among homeowners to reduce operational energy use in dwellings and mitigate climate change. Building research and policy has traditionally focused on the identification of retrofit drivers and barriers, to strengthen the former and reduce the later. However valuable the static juxtaposition of drivers and barriers may be, it cannot capture their temporal dynamics during a retrofit process. Recent research emphasises repeatedly that retrofits should be understood as dynamic processes that unfold over extended periods of time. This paper presents a metasynthesis of qualitative case studies on energy retrofit in single-family owner-occupied dwellings. A process perspective is used to capture the dynamics between socio-technical aspects of the built environment that shape retrofit depth and energy use post-retrofit. Metasynthesis results show that: (i) prior homeowner knowledge about energy retrofit plays a significant role on the depth of a technological solution achieved during the retrofit; (ii) the actual energy use post-retrofit depends on the extent of owners’ involvement in the development of their retrofit design solutions. These findings have important implications for EU energy policy uptake in support of the household transition to low-carbon living.