People-centred deep renovation practices: from challenges to strategies

Abstract

This paper bases its considerations from the refusal of the prevailing perception that buildings consume energy, and assumes, on the contrary, that it is actually people, that consume energy for their comfort. This means that it is necessary to identify the end users’ behaviour, actions and habits in relation to the use of energy and their way to make decisions regarding energy retrofit interventions. This should be done considering also the economic savings and the costs, health and wellbeing of people as important drivers in the decision-making process. To do so, in this paper, we will try to position the main challenges encountered by users in the deep renovation first, hence disclosing some possible strategic actions for the uptake of a peoplecentred revolution of the renovation market in EU.