Energy Efficiency and Universal Design in Home Renovations – A Comparative Review

Abstract

Policy and societal objectives indicate a large need for housingrenovations that both accommodate lifelong living and significantly increaseenergy efficiency. However, these two areas of research are not yet examined inconjunction and this paper hypothesizes this as a missed opportunity to createbetter renovation concepts. The paper outlines a comparative review on research inEnergy Efficiency and Universal Design in order to find the similarities anddifferences in both depth and breadth of knowledge. Scientific literature in the twofields reveals a disparate depth of knowledge in areas of theory, research approach,and degree of implementation in society. Universal Design and Energy Efficiencyare part of a trajectory of expanding scope towards greater sustainability and,although social urgency has been a driver of the research intensity and approach inboth fields, in energy efficiency there is an engineering, problem solving approachwhile Universal Design has a more sociological, user-focused one. These differentapproaches are reflected in the way home owners in Energy Efficiency researchare viewed as consumers and decision makers whose drivers are studied, whileUniversal Design treats home owners as informants in the design process andstudies their needs. There is an inherent difficulty in directly merging UniversalDesign and Energy Efficiency at a conceptual level because Energy Efficiency isunderstood as a set of measures, i.e. a product, while Universal Design is part of a(design) process. The conceptual difference is apparent in their implementation aswell. Internationally energy efficiency in housing has been largely imposedthrough legislation, while legislation directly mandating Universal Design is eithernon-existent or it has an explicit focus on accessibility. However, EnergyEfficiency and Universal Design can be complementary concepts and, even thoughit is more complex than expected, the combination offers possibilities to advanceknowledge in both fields.