Fionn Stevenson

Evaluating housing performance in relation to human behaviour: new challenges

Nine years later, Building Performance Evaluation (BPE), in which POE plays a significant role, appears to be more established, with governments and their agencies recognizing the importance of finding out how well their building investments have performed against expectations. New schools, prisons, and hospitals are now being evaluated. Government offices are measured annually in order to benchmark and improve performance year on year. There is a growing archive of information on the performance of public and commercial buildings. But where is housing in this picture?

The usability of control interfaces in low-carbon housing

For the same type of house, energy and water use can vary by up to 14 times between different households in low-carbon housing. This article assesses the usability of key human control interfaces in two contrasting case studies of low-carbon housing, using building performance evaluation and a usability matrix tool. It situates the discussion within socio-technical theories of habit, practice, capabilities and emergent properties in products which facilitate easy, rewarding and energy-efficient learning. Key findings reveal poor design features and occupant lack of understanding including specific aspects of centralised mechanical heating and ventilation systems. Lessons learnt and recommendations are highlighted for design guidance and policy consideration. These include a more user-centred approach to design and testing of products, and key areas of focus in relation to delivering low-carbon homes that are more controllable and therefore more comfortable.

Adaptive comfort in an unpredictable world

The current global economic crisis which started in 2008 has changed the world for many people. The cost of living has gone up, and for many the standard of living is going down with a corresponding increase in fuel poverty. Even for larger companies the cost of energy is beginning to feature in boardroom discussions. How can comfortable working and living conditions be maintained for the majority in such a world, especially with the added uncertainty of climate change?

Sustainability and materiality: The bioregional and cultural challenges to evaluation

Abstract The current debate on indicators for sustainability and life‐cycle assessment of materials relies heavily on universalised systems theory, first developed by Bertalanffy in the 1950s. Various ecolabelling and environmental auditing schemes have attempted to account for all the variables required to measure the sustainability of a given product or material in relation to its resource use. The aim has always been to try and harmonise standards used to facilitate trade regardless of location and using a standard neo‐classical economic framework. This paper questions the hegemonic position that synchronic systems analysis currently enjoys by proposing an alternative approach that recognises evolving and relative standards based on localised cultural and economic valuation. This alternative approach is underpinned by the concept of bioregionalism which combines physical, economic and cultural mapping of local resources using local parameters and evaluation methods. Recent bioregional research into loc...

Reducing energy demand through retrofitting buildings

Introduction The ambitious agenda that Brenda Boardman sets out in her latest book aims to tackle one of the greatest challenges facing developed societies today – making our buildings energy efficient with zero CO2 emissions. The book is a clarion call for action, and sets out a clear pathway in relation to current UK energy policy. The Executive Summary has an exceptionally clear analysis of this area and the first chapter makes a devastating attack on the patchy and product-based approach to energy policy adopted by the current UK government. There is a refreshing ‘no nonsense’ approach taken here which sets this text apart from other writing, given that this discourse tends to be drowned by statistics and caveats related to the complexity of the issues involved. The structure of the book, content and writing style are highly accessible, which should help to guarantee the widest audience for the important points put forward.

Overheating in retrofitted flats: occupant practices, learning and interventions

ABSTRACT The overheating risk in flats (apartments) retrofitted to energy-efficient standards has been identified by previous studies as one that is particularly high. With climate change and rising mean temperatures this is a growing concern. There is a need to understand the kinds of practices, learning and interventions adopted by the occupants of individual homes to try to reduce overheating, as this area is poorly understood and under-researched. This case study focuses on the impact of different home-use practices in relation to the severity of overheating in 18 flats in one tower block in northern England. Internal temperatures monitored in comparable flats show that the percentage of time spent above the expected category II threshold of thermal comfort according to BS EN 15251 can differ by over 70%. Extensive monitoring, covering a full year, including two summer periods, has identified emergent changes in heatwave practices linked with increased home-use skills and understanding among the research participants. Close analysis of design intentions versus reality has identified key physical barriers and social learning opportunities for appropriate adaptation in relation to heatwaves. Recommendations for designers and policy-makers are highlighted in relation to these factors.

Low Carbon Housing: Understanding Occupant Guidance and Training

Recent research into occupant behaviour in low carbon housing indicates that for the same type of house, energy and water use can vary by up to fourteen times between different households. This paper assesses the information and training the occupants received in two contrasting building performance evaluation case studies of exemplary low carbon housing. Key findings showed a lack of a coordinated set of guidance for occupants and poor understanding on the trainers’ part on specifics of the centralised heating and mechanical ventilation systems. As a consequence occupants were unable to operate or maintain these systems with confidence. Recommendations are made to develop guidance and “hands on” training that keeps usability in mind and empowers occupants to contribute to reductions in carbon emissions.

Resilience, redundancy and low-carbon living: co-producing individual and community learning

There is an acknowledged need for buildings and communities to be more resilient in the face of unpredictable effects of climate change, economic crises and energy supplies. The notion and social practices involving ‘redundancy’ (the ability to switch between numerous available choices beyond optimal design) are explored as an aspect of resilience theory. Practice and Social Learning theories are used as a lens through which to explore the available redundancy in housing and home environments to help prevent performance failure through unexpected circumstances or in response to varying user needs. Findings from an in depth UK housing case study show how redundancy is linked with the capacity to share resources and to learn both individually and collectively as a community. Such learning in relation to resilient low-carbon living is shown to be co-produced effectively through participatory action research. The benefits of introducing extra redundancy in housing design and community development to accommodate varied user’s understanding and preferences are discussed in relation to future proofing, value and scalar issues. Recommendations include better understanding of the design, time and monetary contribution needed to implement social or technical redundancy. These costs should be evaluated in context of savings made through greater resilience achieved.

Exploring the Efficacy of Facebook Groups for Collective Occupant Learning About Using Their Homes

Using Facebook Groups to connect otherwise anonymous people that live in a single urban development is a relatively new phenomenon. Within residential developments, there are a number of common comfort, management, and performance issues experienced by many isolated inhabitants that are identified through building performance evaluation studies. Facebook is a ubiquitous social network tool and powerful communication platform, particularly popular among young adults. This article explores the use of closed Facebook Groups in relation to collective learning about home use in two residential communities in the United Kingdom. Data were collected through longitudinal digital and physical visits to case study residential developments and to the Facebook Group sites. Group development, dynamics, and the quality of knowledge sharing is evaluated. Findings are presented in relation to home use learning, as it proved to be a vital theme of each Group’s activity. We propose that weak-tie urban communities can develop collective efficacy through communicating on a Facebook Group that enables quality learning based on reciprocal sharing of experiences and knowledge by its members. This helps tackle comfort issues experienced, lower the cost of living, and share bespoke, context-specific home use best practice. Strong engagement and leadership of group administrators limited to early stages of the Groups’ formation followed by high rate of activity by the majority of members was key. There was a clear overlap observed between social media narrative and the physical experiences of daily life, which helps support residents. The analysis suggests the positive effect of the learning environment created bottom-up would not be easily transferable to professional applications.

Domestic photovoltaic systems: the governance of occupant use

ABSTRACT Housing is responsible for 29% of all CO2 emissions in the UK, yet there is still limited understanding of why housing routinely uses more energy than predicted, resulting in a performance gap. Recent studies attribute this gap to insufficient use of energy-efficient technologies by occupants. This paper focuses on the governance of domestic photovoltaic (PV) systems in the UK during the provision stage, an overlooked area in the previous energy-efficiency studies that have mainly focused on PV adoption and practices by occupants, but only after installation. The notion of translation in Actor Network Theory (ANT) is used to analyse how a network of PV provision actants decides the system design and integration into homes, and how this in turn conditions household participation in this network. Semi-structured interviews and video tours used in four participative community and two non-participative community case studies reveal the impact of non-human actants in terms of how PV scripts and practices are formed by PV professionals. The finding also shows that the nominated ‘procurement occupants’ were the key mediators in the participative projects, while the housing developers were the key mediators in the non-participative projects.