REFURB 2.0 – Regional process innovations for building renovation packages opening markets to zero energy renovations

As stated by the EC, renovation by the private housing sector towards increased energy efficiency is seriously lagging behind. As more than sufficient technological solutions are available, the focus in REFURB are on removing non-technological barriers. The drivers and barriers are divided into:

• Technical drivers and barriers, linked with the dwelling characteristics and the challenge to renovate to NZEB.
• Financial drivers and barriers, linked with the financial possibilities of the dweller and the cost of the NZEB-renovation.
• Social and behavioral drivers and barriers, linked with the decision-making process of the dweller, so including the behavior, attitude of the dweller, as well as the (social) conditions to make a decision.
• Context drivers and barriers. These are rather external factors, not directly linked with the dweller or dwelling characteristics, but deal with the particular situation or context the homeowner has to deal with. E.g. legal and administrative issues, tenant-landlord issues, organization of the building sector etc.

The supply side, delivering the renovation solutions to the dwellers, often comes up with fragmented renovation offers, resulting in inefficient or only partial solutions or maybe even solutions that lock off future solutions for the building due to lack of knowledge or visions for the energy renovation. In addition to this come the drivers and barriers mentioned above, and the combination of these parameters results in a house-owner, who do not have a structured way to obtain all the necessary information related to renovation measures and thereby may not have the best solution for deep renovation.

One of the ways to solve this is the use of ‘1-stop shop concepts.’ Many initiatives have already been put into practice. Some of these projects were successful, but several were not. They often lack an understanding of the concerns and demands of the house-owners. REFURB 2.0 will tackle the complex interplay of these barriers through coordinated process organization, innovation and optimization. The project bridges the gap between supply and demand sides by developing a holistic approach to the renovation process in which technology combinations and improved communication between the house-owner and the supplier, trigger step-by-step deep energy renovation of existing, private residential buildings towards NZEB-standards.

The above mentioned activities will result in dedicated renovation packages for different market segments and regions in Europe, starting with the private residential sector. A small scale pilot will be carried out in order to validate and demonstrate the REFURB 2.0 solution. This will be followed by a roll-out plan to stimulate EU wide uptake. In addition, a transferability plan will be established for other sectors, whereas the social housing sector will be the first ‘follower’.