Energy Efficient Homes: The Role of Social Norms and Influencers in Homeowners’ Decision Making

Abstract

The building sector plays a significant role in climate change due to carbon emissions and energy over-consumption related to the use of non-renewable energy sources and insufficient insulation. Private homeowners could contribute to achieving climate change targets in the building sector by refurbishing their homes to meet stricter energy efficiency standards. However, the realization of respective investments in energy-efficient heating systems or retrofitting remains insufficient. Against this background, drivers and barriers of homeowners’ decision making have been investigated by a considerable number of empirical studies. These previous studies have focused on economic and rational determinants of investment decisions, finding only little support for the influence of determinants such as subsidies or energy savings. Consequently, the present study proposes a novel approach to better understand the relevant factors of decision-making. Featuring a socio-psychological perspective this study explores homeowners’ decision-making within a social context. Thereby the study includes the viewpoint of homeowners as well as relevant influencers such as installers. A qualitative study with ten semi-structured interviews was conducted. The sample consisted of six homeowners and four installers. Findings reveal that social norms (e.g., opinions of friends and neighbors) as well as recommendations of influencers (such as installers) play a crucial role to persuade homeowner to invest in energy-efficient homes. Based on these findings, the study proposes several measures that address social norms (best practice examples, case studies) and suggests including installers as important target groups in campaigns promoting energy-efficient homes