Assessing the Impact of Shallow Renovation on Energy Poverty: A Primary Data Study

Roberto Barrella (), José Carlos Romero (), Almudena Laguillo and Ester Sevilla
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Roberto Barrella: Chair of Energy and Poverty, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Alberto Aguilera, 25, 28015 Madrid, Spain
José Carlos Romero: Chair of Energy and Poverty, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Alberto Aguilera, 25, 28015 Madrid, Spain
Almudena Laguillo: Chair of Energy and Poverty, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Alberto Aguilera, 25, 28015 Madrid, Spain
Ester Sevilla: Chair of Energy and Poverty, ICAI School of Engineering, Comillas Pontifical University, Alberto Aguilera, 25, 28015 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-25

Abstract: One of the main identified causes of energy poverty (EP) is the low energy efficiency of housing. In this line, since 2018, public administrations and NGOs collaborating with the Naturgy Foundation’s Energy Renovation Solidarity Fund have implemented several shallow renovation interventions in 3660 Spanish vulnerable households. However, the effects of these measures on domestic energy affordability were not evaluated before because of a lack of a proper method. This paper presents a methodology to objectively assess the impact of these interventions on EP. In particular, this work proposes calculating a hidden EP indicator using data from a primary survey and applies it to a local case study (54 vulnerable households in Catalonia—10% of dwellings renovated by the Fund in the region) by processing their characteristics and energy bills before and after the implementation of the interventions. Considering the whole sample of households analysed, the hidden EP indicator drops by 10% in absolute terms (11.2% in relative terms) after the retrofit, and the average EP gap goes from 423 €/year to 313 €/year, thus marking a significant positive effect of the analysed interventions on the EP situation of this population. Eventually, extrapolating the results to the vulnerable population in Spain, this paper points out a series of recommendations that could be useful for decision-makers and organisations when designing and implementing shallow renovation interventions.

Keywords: energy poverty; energy retrofitting; primary survey; impact assessment; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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