Hidden costs for house-owners to reduce their heat losses

In the project, the house-owners’ costs to reduce their heat losses by improving the insulation capacity of the windows or by additional insulation are studied.

Backgrund

Housing and premises in 2017 accounted for about a third of Sweden's total final energy use. In order to meet the policy objectives, this energy use must be reduced. By reducing energy use, the environmental and climate impact is reduced. This can be done through technical measures, through changed incentive structures and through behavioral changes. The focus of this project is on residential households and their ability to reduce their heat losses by installing energy glass and / or additional insulation in their existing home. In addition to residential households, the project is aimed at companies that sell and install energy glass and additional insulation, as well as other decision-makers in the housing sector.

Implementation

Through two surveys, a unique dataset is collected that forms the basis for the project work. The project is based on a social science approach to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the scope and size of the transaction costs. The project is expected to demonstrate relationships that take into account behavioral patterns, incentive structure and financial conditions of house-owners to reduce their heat losses. These relationships are then used to develop and improve the services and business models applied to households. Linked to this, the regulatory setting and formulation will also be studied to investigate if they capture the necessary aspects.