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Analysis of Professionals’ and the General Public’s Perceptions of Passive Houses in Korea: Needs Assessment for the Improvement of the Energy Efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality

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  • Joohyun Lee

    (Sustainability R&D Center, Chungyeon, Seoul 06248, Korea)

  • Mardelle McCuskey Shepley

    (Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA)

  • Jungmann Choi

    (ZARIN ENC Architects, Passive House Institute Korea, Seoul 05520, Korea)

Abstract

Despite the economic and environmental benefits of passive houses, their market penetration has been low, which is partially due to misperceptions regarding their cost. This study examined the perceptions of building-related professionals and the general public regarding Korean passive houses to explore strategies for spurring passive house concepts and practices. The participants took an online survey on their interest in and reasons to reside in passive houses and their expected construction costs. The results from two separate groups of participants, including 162 professionals and 130 members of the general public, were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Both the professional and general public groups expressed a strong interest in passive houses because of the comfortable and healthy indoor environment, energy efficiency, cost savings, and sustainability that they provide. However, the expected construction costs of passive houses were perceived differently by the two groups: They were believed to be less expensive by the professionals and more expensive by the public respondents. This difference seems to result from their prior knowledge or experience regarding passive houses. Both groups were willing to pay more and assumed that the high expected costs were related to the construction products, systems, and labor costs of passive houses. The results showed that the lack of information or education on passive houses could be a major barrier to accessing passive houses, especially with the general public, while the cost could pose less of a barrier to the overall growth of the Korean passive house market. Further efforts by the government and industry are needed in order to provide more educational programs and to identify and manufacture more reasonably priced construction materials.

Suggested Citation

  • Joohyun Lee & Mardelle McCuskey Shepley & Jungmann Choi, 2021. "Analysis of Professionals’ and the General Public’s Perceptions of Passive Houses in Korea: Needs Assessment for the Improvement of the Energy Efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8892-:d:610990
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Audenaert, A. & De Cleyn, S.H. & Vankerckhove, B., 2008. "Economic analysis of passive houses and low-energy houses compared with standard houses," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 47-55, January.
    2. Adrian Pitts, 2017. "Passive House and Low Energy Buildings: Barriers and Opportunities for Future Development within UK Practice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-26, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jungmin An & Dong-Kwan Kim & Jinyeong Lee & Sung-Kwan Joo, 2021. "Least Squares Monte Carlo Simulation-Based Decision-Making Method for Photovoltaic Investment in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Norouzi, Masoud & Haddad, Assed N. & Jiménez, Laureano & Mohajerani, Mostafa & Boer, Dieter, 2025. "Long-term decarbonization prediction of buildings accounting for temporal variations in grid and material emission factors: A case study of timber-framed passive houses in the United Kingdom," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).

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