Akhatova, A., & Kranzl, L. (2023, July 26). Agent-based simulation of pathways towards neighbourhood-level building retrofits [Conference Presentation]. 18 th IAEE European Conference, Milano, Italy.
E370 - Institut für Energiesysteme und Elektrische Antriebe
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Date (published):
26-Jul-2023
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Event name:
18 th IAEE European Conference
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Event date:
24-Jul-2023 - 27-Jul-2023
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Event place:
Milano, Italy
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Keywords:
Agent-Based Modelling; energy-efficient building retrofit; neighborhoods; renovation investment decisions
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Abstract:
Energy-efficient retrofitting of existing buildings and neighborhoods, including measures such as thermal insulation of a building envelope (i.e., walls, roof, floor) and installation of energy-efficient windows, is essential for space heat demand reduction and subsequent carbon emissions cut. However, buildings are not being retrofitted at a sufficient speed and depth, as only 1% of the total building stock in Europe gets renovated annually [1]. Especially in the residential sector, it is challenging to design policies that encourage owners’ decisions to renovate. The state-of-the-art literature and empirical studies show that both monetary and non-monetary barriers exist towards greater uptake of energy efficiency measures among owner-occupiers. While lack of capital and aversion to delayed gains have been known to be important barriers [2], recent studies emphasize high non-monetary transaction costs (e.g. cost of information search, contract negotiations, etc.) as strong barriers to retrofit uptake [3–5]. This study presents an explorative simulation of neighbourhood retrofit (i.e., insulation) adoption that accounts for these economic and non-economic barriers as well as other important determinants of insulation (e.g., building age or availability of subsidy). The neighborhood level is chosen as it is an appropriate level for energy concept planning and policy interventions [6,7]. The effects of possible policy strategies and social influence on the uptake levels will be simulated and discussed. The unique contribution of this work is in bringing together the findings from social scientific studies into a quantitative model as a first step in developing a multi-disciplinary policy support tool.
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Project title:
Human-Centric Energy Districts: Intelligente Wertschöpfung durch Gebäudeeffizienz und Energiegerechtigkeit für nachhaltiges Wohnen: 812730 (European Commission)