No abstract

The building stock in Sweden includes many older residential dwellings often with inadequate building envelopes and poor insulation resulting in high energy use and uncomfortable indoor climate. Improving energy performance in multi-family dwellings by refurbishment processes is the key factor to success in order to meet national and European energy goals to reduce energy use in the building sector by 50 % through 2050. How is indoor environment affected when dwellings are refurbished to become low-energy dwellings? This paper aims to explore parameters for indoor climate and comfort in refurbished dwellings transformed into low-energy dwellings from an inter-disciplinary perspective, taking into account both quantitative and qualitative aspects of indoor climate using technical measurements, a questionnaire survey, and qualitative interviews. Based on a combination of methods, the results show that the indoor climate has largely been improved and user satisfaction was high in the refurbished dwellings. Results also showed that however indoor temperatures were too high during summer, resulting in dissatisfaction from residents. Overheating can be prevented by providing information to the residents about the functionality of the heating system and by adding shade in front of the windows.

This paper explores the energy efficiency learning and practices of youths aged 18-25 years. The studied youths are involved in a project, initiated by a municipally owned housing company, to educate residents and change everyday behaviour, making it more sustainable and energy efficient. This project, which forms our case study, covers socio-technical features such as energy systems and the individual metering and billing of heating, electricity, and hot and cold water. How did the youths perceive and use the systems? Have their attitudes and behaviours concerning energy-related practices changed during the project? The results indicate that a combination of technology (e.g. metering and visualized energy use) and social activities (e.g. educational activities and meeting neighbours and housing company staff) changed some practices involving what was perceived as energy wasting behaviour (e.g. using stand-by modes and taking long hot showers), while other practices (e.g. travelling and heating) were harder to change due to socio-technical barriers. The youths displayed knowledge gaps in relation to the energy system and their basic understanding of energy (the difference between heating and electricity).