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Attitudes and Approaches of Finnish Retrofit Industry Stakeholders toward Achieving Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings

Author

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  • Sadaf Alam

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
    Department of Built Environment, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland)

  • Miimu Airaksinen

    (Finnish Association of Civil Engineers RIL, 00100 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Risto Lahdelma

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
    Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis, School of Science, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland)

Abstract

Key stakeholders in industry are highly responsible for achieving energy performance targets. Particularly, this paper assesses the attitudes, approaches, and experiences of Finnish construction professionals regarding energy-efficient buildings, or nZEBs. A three-tier investigation was conducted including surveys and expert interviews with several stakeholders. The structure of this approach was informed by preliminary data and information available on the Finnish construction sector. The questionnaire showed that the stakeholders ranked energy efficiency and embodied energy/carbon as very important. The survey highlighted that the importance of the embodied carbon CO 2 in the materials is less important than the energy efficiency from many of the stakeholders’ points of view. “Energy efficiency” is very important for ESCOs, contractors, and facility managers followed by architects, HVAC engineers, and construction design engineers. Nevertheless, the opinions of architects ranked “embodied energy CO 2 ” as the most important regarding nZEB. When it comes to the importance of “running time emissions” toward nZEB, contractors and ESCO companies ranked it as 1 for importance followed by property owners (78%) and tenants (75%). It is very fascinating to see from the survey that “running time carbon emissions” has been ranked 1 (very important) by all stakeholders. This study will enable construction industry stakeholders to make provisions for overcoming the barriers, gaps, and challenges identified in the practices of the nZEB projects. It will also inform the formulation of policies that drive retrofit uptake.

Suggested Citation

  • Sadaf Alam & Miimu Airaksinen & Risto Lahdelma, 2021. "Attitudes and Approaches of Finnish Retrofit Industry Stakeholders toward Achieving Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-24, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7359-:d:586186
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    References listed on IDEAS

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