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What you see is not what you get: single-family house renovation and energy retrofit seen through the lens of sociomateriality

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  • Martine Buser
  • Veronica Carlsson

Abstract

Representing 30% of the energy consumption in Sweden, the built environment is a clear contender for climate mitigation initiatives. The substantial stock of single-family houses presents ample opportunities to engage in energy-saving refurbishments. However, despite political pressure, only a minority of these refurbishments includes low-energy retrofit. To explain this slow take-off, studies have mostly focused on the necessity to better link new technical solutions with user needs and behaviours. We propose to extend this analysis to a broader set of actors including the craftsmen contracted to carry out the refurbishments and the houses themselves with their specific features and characteristics. To do so, we build our contribution on the concept of sociomateriality. This perspective argues that technological artefacts are socially constructed, but recognizes that materiality also has a role to play. Drawing on the experiences of 24 small craftsman firms, 8 houses as well as their owners, our method comprises interviews, workshops and participant observation complemented by an in-depth case study. The results show many differentiated representations of the renovation process under scrutiny. All these representations need to be understood and to a certain degree aligned in order to achieve successful retrofits.

Suggested Citation

  • Martine Buser & Veronica Carlsson, 2017. "What you see is not what you get: single-family house renovation and energy retrofit seen through the lens of sociomateriality," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(5), pages 276-287, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:35:y:2017:i:5:p:276-287
    DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2016.1250929
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    Cited by:

    1. Shoaib Azizi & Gireesh Nair & Thomas Olofsson, 2020. "Adoption of Energy Efficiency Measures in Renovation of Single-Family Houses: A Comparative Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Bobrova, Yekatherina & Papachristos, George & Cooper, Adam, 2022. "Process perspective on homeowner energy retrofits: A qualitative metasynthesis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    3. Mainali, Brijesh & Mahapatra, Krushna & Pardalis, Georgios, 2021. "Strategies for deep renovation market of detached houses," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Pardalis, Georgios & Talmar, Madis & Keskin, Duygu, 2021. "To be or not to be: The organizational conditions for launching one-stop-shops for energy related renovations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

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