Purpose With the rapid urbanization rate in Malaysia, the built environment must adopt sustainable strategies to reduce energy consumption and enhance indoor thermal comfort. This study aims to evaluate the adoption and readiness of passive and active retrofit features in Malaysian residential buildings by comparing high-rise and landed properties, introducing the Retrofit Readiness Index (RRI) to address the gap in understanding homeowners' readiness and provide a diagnostic tool for targeted policy intervention. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 406 homeowners in Klang Valley, Malaysia, anchored in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), assessed renovation motives, adoption, willingness to adopt and the RRI, which integrates both current and intended adoption of 12 retrofit features. Statistical analysis was performed to explain the variance in RRI scores between housing typologies. Findings Results indicate that landed homeowners demonstrate higher RRI scores (46.17%) compared to high-rise residents (36.78%), with significant differences observed in features such as main façade shading, roof insulation and solar panels. Willingness to spend emerged as the strongest predictor of retrofit readiness, whereas price, electricity savings and energy cost savings had limited influence. Both groups showed similar readiness for low-cost measures like tint films and balcony shading, but high-rise residents displayed greater readiness for building-level features like green roofs. These findings highlight the need for housing-type-specific strategies, including financial incentives, regulatory guidance and awareness campaigns, to enhance retrofit adoption. Originality/value This study introduces RRI, a novel composite metric that integrates adoption with behavioural intention, providing practical insights to inform tailored policies for improving energy efficiency in Malaysian homes.
Tan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.