Comparative analysis of homeowner decision-support systems for housing retrofit in the UK

Panakaduwa Gamage, Chamara; Coates, Paul; Munir, Mustapha

Abstract

Housing retrofit in the UK has become critically important in the UK due to several reasons such as poor health & comfort, carbon emissions and fuel poverty. However, the progress of the housing retrofit is observed to be low as there is no proper demand from the homeowners to retrofit their houses. One of the reasons is the unavailability of personalised information about retrofitting houses, which could have improved homeowner confidence. Digital tools for decision support are found to be an effective solution for this problem. Currently, there are decision support systems for retrofit professionals. However, the available digital tools for homeowners to explore housing retrofit options are limited. This study has done a practical assessment of existing three digital tools available for homeowners. The findings reveal that the existing tools do not have a level of functionality to make an impact to motivate homeowners to retrofit their houses, as they do not answer the fundamental challenges of the homeowners in making retrofit decisions. However, these systems are designed in simplistic and attractive ways. The study recommends improving the system's functionality to cater to homeowner needs while preserving the existing strengths.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: International Post Graduate Research Conference IPGRC 2024
• Start Date: May 28, 2024
• End Date: May 30, 2024
• Acceptance Date: May 28, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2024