Barriers to energy upgrades of existing residential buildings: Results from social housing areas in Athens

Hellenic Open University, School of Applied Arts and Sustainable Design, Laboratory of Technology and Policy of Energy and Environment, Parodos Aristotelous

Abstract

In the latest years a large scale of energy upgrades has been implemented on many residencies in the capital of Greece Athens. Obstacles to the implementation of this process occur from the start as individuals seek important barriers, such as limited capital, lack of trust to professionals and limited information from the competent authorities. On the other hand, property holder’s request to join government’s energy upgrade programs, since they are not able to implement solutions on their own with their low incomes. In this case, they are willing to trust project consultants and engineers, so as to easily participate and implement advanced energy saving solutions. Finally, precise consultation and investigation of the current energy situation by professionals, can raise awareness of the current energy situation, while practical solutions through combined technologies are able to upgrade the existing building stock. The current paper includes highlighted parts of an extensive questionnaire research to citizens of social housing areas in Athens, concerning their opinion about energy upgrades in the residential sector.