Barriers and challenges to smart buildings' concepts and technologies in Brazilian social housing projects

Abstract

Smart building research is commonly explored in commercial buildings and less studied in the context of social housing. In this context, this article aims to diagnose the main barriers to the adoption of smart buildings' concepts and technologies in social housing projects in Brazil. The 'Expert Interviews' method was used with seven Brazilian experts in the fields of smart buildings and social housing, based on the assumption that experts have special knowledge, which are related to a special field. The main barriers categories identified in this study can be summarised in: 1) economic; 2) policy; 3) social; 4) technical. Based on these results, the study aims to contribute with possible solutions and guidelines to overcome such barriers, and discusses propositions that can be improved into hypothesis for later empirical testing.

Integration of Renewable Energy Technologies in Smart Building Design for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and Self-Sufficiency

“…Similarly, wind turbines necessitate specific wind speeds to be effective. Ensuring that a building remains operational during periods of reduced renewable energy generation requires sophisticated energy storage solutions and backup systems, the development and integration of which are technically challenging (Addae et al, 2019;Gobbo Jr et al, 2016;Moorthy et al, 2019).…”

“…While the prices of solar panels and wind turbines have been decreasing over the years, the associated costs of installation, maintenance, and potential retrofitting still pose financial challenges. Moreover, the economic viability often hinges on incentives, subsidies, or tax breaks, the availability and consistency of which can be unpredictable (Addae et al, 2019;Chisale & Lee, 2023;Gobbo Jr et al, 2016;Moorthy et al, 2019).…”

“…For instance, feeding excess renewable energy back into the grid or participating in energy trading requires policies that recognize and facilitate such actions. Additionally, regulations pertaining to safety, aesthetics, or even environmental impact (such as the placement of wind turbines in migratory bird paths) can impede the deployment of RETs in smart buildings (Addae et al, 2019;Chisale & Lee, 2023;Gobbo Jr et al, 2016;Moorthy et al, 2019).…”

Barriers to the Adoption of Smart Housing Concept in African Smart City Projects

“…Smart city as a concept adopt the use of data, informa on and other smart technologies in achieving smart solu ons to everyday challenges posed by the city (Dameri & Rosenthal-Sabroux, 2014). The concept has been generally adopted to be a solu on to crea ng an enabling future environment that is technologically driven, resource efficient, and providing an affordable home through this process (Gobbo, Souza & Gobbo, 2016). In view of this, smart housing leverage on data, informa on and smart technologies to solve housing problems in smart city projects.…”

“…Smart ci es create collabora on opportuni es between public and private sectors which include; the circular economy, smart governance, social cohesion, public management, smart transporta on, smart environment and smart logis c among others. Most literatures focus on the technological aspect of the smart city and data sharing (Emmanuel, 2014;Gosden, 2014;Greenough, 2015;Gobbo, Souza & Gobbo, 2016;RICs, 2019). Few studies emphasised on the opportuni es the smart technologies can create in the urban environment while projec ng ICT as a means of making a city smart (Aliyu & Amadu, 2017;Odefadehan, 2021).…”