The UK homeowner-retrofitter as an innovator in a socio-technical system

Ray Galvin and Minna Sunikka-Blank

Energy Policy, 2014, vol. 74, issue C, 655-662

Abstract: Policy on domestic thermal retrofits is usually designed as a top-down enterprise, setting standards and inducing homeowners to retrofit accordingly. Its underlying assumption is that correct retrofit technology is developed by experts and comes down through supply chains to households, who apply it as designed to their properties. However, this model is challenged by the insight from socio-technical systems studies (STST) that technology and society mutually form and influence each other at every level of society. Using this conceptual framework, this study investigated whether innovations are happening among retrofitting households, and what support these have for diffusion upwards into supply chains and outwards to other households. Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews among homeowner-retrofitters plus building professionals and citizens׳ initiatives which support these, in Cambridge, UK. Local innovation was found in the development of new retrofit technology and novel reconfiguring of existing solutions. Much of this was triggered by clashes between standard retrofit solutions and heritage or aesthetic values, economic necessity, or building professionals׳ lack of knowledge or experience. The findings suggest that instead of treating homeowners as passive recipients, UK thermal retrofit policy should broaden to identify useful innovations developed by homeowners and support them where appropriate.

Keywords: Socio-technical systems; Thermal retrofits; Built heritage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421514004662
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:74:y:2014:i:c:p:655-662

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.08.013

Access Statistics for this article

Energy Policy is currently edited by N. France

More articles in Energy Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().