Determinants of energy efficient retrofits in residential sector: A comprehensive analysis

Energy-efficient retrofits (EERs) are probably the most cost-effective method to address energy poverty in the residential sector. However, actual EER rates are far below those called for in recent policy goals. A large body of literature has examined the determinants influencing households’ EER decisions but with scattered and contextually limited results. Consequently, there is a lack of a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the literature in this area. In this study, a detailed literature review and bibliometric analysis of the determinants of EERs was conducted to better understand the scope and evolution of knowledge in this area. Specifically, 1198 scientific documents were systematically examined, with 1000 terms included in the final analysis. In addition, a new approach to bibliometric analysis was adopted, examining the content of abstracts rather than keywords, allowing for a more detailed analysis. This work contains important contributions. First, the result of this research is a detailed overview of the determinants of EER in residential buildings, which can be divided into five main groups: information and policy measures, economic factors, socioeconomic characteristics of households, technical and building characteristics and behavioural factors. Second, I conducted a bibliometric analysis that visualises the current state of knowledge regarding the determinants of EER in the literature. The results show that several groups of these determinants have been identified in the literature, the most influential of which are thermal comfort, energy cost, sustainable retrofit and behaviour change. These groups include 83 factors that are most relevant in the literature. Third, this study provides the historical evolution of the most influential EER determinants over the past three decades. The study suggests that future energy policies should use a mix of approaches to promote EER to comprehensively address the identified groups of determinants and multiple aspects of household members’ decision-making process.