Thomas Berker

User evaluations of energy efficient buildings - literature review and further research

This chapter gives an overview of research that describes user experiences with different types of energy-efficient buildings, focusing on indoor climate, technical operation, user attitudes and general satisfaction. Energy-efficient buildings are often rated better than conventional buildings on indoor climate, but on digging deeper, users have different concerns. The varying results from the user evaluations reflect that the quality of buildings differs. However, the complaints may also be a result of inappropriate use. The main aim of this chapter is to give guidelines for further research, based on existing user evaluations of energy-efficient buildings. Three important areas for further research on user evaluations could be identified. First, there is a shortage of research that takes into account the social context for evaluation; the social environment, the process of moving into an energy-efficient building and prior knowledge of environmental issues influence evaluation of the buildings. Energy-efficient buildings may also require specific architectural solutions and further research should consider architectural and aesthetic aspects in the evaluation. Research on the use and operation of energy-efficient buildings is increasing, but there is still a need to give more detailed attention to different ways of providing information and training in operation and use.

Domesticating Spaces: Sociotechnical Studies and the Built Environment

The main aim of this article is to rephrase good and bad performance of built environments as good or bad interplay of spaces, building technologies, and users. To support this perspective, two conceptual tools broadly used within the social study of technology are introduced. These concepts, the semiotic pair “script/antiprogram” and the study of “domestication of media and technology in everyday life,” were originally developed in the search for a better understanding of the mutual shaping of culture/society and technology. In this contribution, these concepts are applied in an empirical study of two nonresidential buildings. Through an extension of these concepts, consequences for the creation and maintenance of better built environments are proposed.

In the Morning I Just Need a Long, Hot Shower: a Sociological Exploration of Energy Sensibilities in Norwegian Bathrooms

Abstract This article proposes a new area of research centered on the study of how energy sensibilities—in terms of esthesia which is understood as responsiveness and awareness—are distributed and redistributed. Energy is approached as a polyphonic concept with many meanings, of which none enjoys privileged status. Given this polyphony, the common observation that end-users have no idea (or wrong ideas) about their energy consumption loses importance. Instead, unevenly distributed ways of sensing and making sense of energy become the object of study. Drawing on the work of French philosopher Jacques Rancière, the article discusses contemporary distributions of energy sensibilities in domestic settings and how they have been redistributed during the previous two decades. Analysis of visual representations of bathrooms in the largest Norwegian interior lifestyle magazine and 600 real estate advertisements shows how a specific, resource-intensive energy sensibility has become dominant through a politics of refurbishing.

The interaction between building and users in passive and zero‐energy housing and offices: The role of interfaces, knowledge and user commitment

Purpose – The articles aim is to present user experiences with passive houses and zero‐energy buildings. The focus is on the interaction between the building and the users, specifically on how user interfaces, knowledge, and commitment influence the use of the building and the level of energy consumption awareness.Design/methodology/approach – The study follows an explorative grounded theory approach. This approach generates insights that will be consolidated in follow‐up studies. Qualitative interviews with users of six buildings were conducted. Site inspections applying walk‐through method and other available information complement the data.Findings – Users in general were satisfied with having a new energy efficient building. Several respondents were more concerned about the environment now than before. However, there were concerns about thermal comfort. Misuse or misunderstandings among users in some cases led to lower indoor comfort. New or dissatisfactory design solutions were also responsible for ...

Sustainable urbanisation? Norwegian cabin culture in transition.

In this article, we explore a cultural change which has made the desire to live close to nature from a core tenet of Norwegian culture to an unsustainable threat to nature. During the last two decades, Norwegian cabin tourism has moved from ‘hard’ forms (few, prolonged stays, strong identification with the site) of ecotourism to ‘softer’ ones (shorter, more frequent stays, commercialisation of the site). These changes, we argue, have led to a situation in which the image of an ideal cabin which echoes hard ecotourism is perpetuated within new, softer practices. Unfortunately, this new kind of nature tourism, which is characterised by many short stays of many uncoordinated visitors spread over preferably ‘pristine’ nature, is inherently unsustainable. As an alternative, we propose more cautious transitions to more coordinated and ‘denser’ forms of tourism, which are exemplified in two cases.

Planning story lines in smart grid road maps (2010–2014): three types of maps for coordinated time travel

ABSTRACT The roll-out of smart grids poses planning challenges that are typical for sustainable innovation in mature infrastructures. Most notably, planners encounter a high degree of complexity caused by multiple interacting scalar and temporal layers; they encounter vested interests and they have to mobilize a large amount of resources. Rip [(2012). The context of innovation journeys. Creativity and Innovation Management, 21(2), 158–170. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8691.2012.00640.x] has proposed that a mediating ‘layer’ of anticipatory coordination devices, such as road maps, enables innovations to enter complex regimes without losing their novelty. In light of current delays in the European roll-out of smart meters, we have conducted a mixed-methods study of the vocabulary and planning story lines used in 13 different smart grid road maps. Based on a correspondence analysis of documents and terms used in the documents, three distinct types of road maps were found. A subsequent close reading of three road maps that each represents one of the types shows how they approach the modernization of electricity infrastructure in distinct ways: a reliance on the market to tackle complexity was observed in UK-type road maps, a strong focus on a due standardization processes was found in the US-type and a technology-centred perspective dominated the China-type documents.

Architecture as a strategy for reduced energy consumption? An in-depth analysis of residential practices’ influence on the energy performance of passive houses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how architectural solutions may influence residential practice and energy consumption. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is part of a larger study based on qualitative investigations of six energy-efficient housing projects in Norway. Here, the authors examine one of these projects, Lovashagen in Bergen, the first Norwegian passive house flat building. Based on a combination of 14 interviews with household members and energy consumption data for all flats, the authors show how residential practices influence energy consumption. In the discussion and conclusion, the authors focus on the role of the architecture in these practices. Findings – On the one hand, Lovashagen reflects a mainstreaming approach to sustainable building, attracting a wide array of different occupants. On the other hand, the specific add-ons that are intended to make the buildings energy efficient require new definitions of comfort and new skills to achieve the promised energy sa...