Incorporating inhabitants’ everyday practices into domestic retrofits

Abstract

Energy-focused retrofit projects are often framed in terms of overcoming technical problems and optimizing the technical and economic performance of houses. However, this paper argues that the success of energy-focused retrofit projects (in terms of saving energy) is conditioned by their compatibility with the everyday practices of the families living afterwards in the retrofitted house. The question is whether ideas of the future everyday practices of the inhabitants are included in the planning and design of the retrofit and, if they are included, is this in order to create a material setting to accommodate environmentally preferred everyday practices? The theoretical framework of the study is founded on the crossroads between a practice–theoretical approach and a concept of design dispositions. Empirical material includes three different case studies: a do-it-yourself retrofit project; a retrofit project where idea, initiative and work are performed by professional building companies; and retrofit projects where the municipality is the main initiator of the retrofit. It is found that context-rich retrofits, in which homeowners are involved in taking decisions on the basis of technical input, are the best framing of energy retrofits. The facilitation of everyday practices (and appropriate feedback loops) can actually help to reduce consumption.