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The Effect of an Energy Refurbishment Scheme on Adequate Warmth in Low-income Dwellings

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  • Sowoo Park

    (Graduate Shool, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea)

  • Joowook Kim

    (Center for Built Environment, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea)

  • Doosam Song

    (Department of Architectural Eng., Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea)

Abstract

Many fuel poverty support programs have been implemented in the world. Energy-efficient retrofitting in low-income households is a main aspect of support programs in the context of energy saving, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and improvement of the thermal comfort and health of residents. This study analyzed the effects of an energy efficiency program for fuel poverty in Korea on the thermal comfort of residents. A total of 330 households were investigated wherein energy retrofits had been conducted. Indoor temperatures in the main bedroom and in the living room were recorded twice. The results showed that the average indoor air temperature in the surveyed households was 15.1 ± 3.7 °C, indicating that 95.2% of main bedrooms and 80.0% of living rooms did not meet the recommendations of the World Health Organization regarding temperature. These results indicated that the surveyed households did not use energy for heating their rooms, and an energy-saving effect due to the retrofits was difficult to expect. Accordingly, retrofit building or energy policies addressing fuel poverty are shown to be ineffective in the context of energy saving and thermal comfort in Korea. This article highlights issues that need to be analyzed to evaluate how effective the welfare program is. The results of this study alert policymaker to the need to improve the welfare policy; the methods proposed in this article will help them in their decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Sowoo Park & Joowook Kim & Doosam Song, 2019. "The Effect of an Energy Refurbishment Scheme on Adequate Warmth in Low-income Dwellings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:9:p:2574-:d:228189
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Younhee Choi & Younghoon Lim & Joowook Kim & Doosam Song, 2020. "Why Does a High Humidity Level Form in Low-Income Households Despite Low Water Vapor Generation?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Joowook Kim & Jemin Myoung & Hyunwoo Lim & Doosam Song, 2020. "Efficiency Gap Caused by the Input Data in Evaluating Energy Efficiency of Low-Income Households’ Energy Retrofit Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-11, April.

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