Bolton, E, Bookbinder, R, Middlemiss, L orcid.org/0000-0001-5185-2033 et al. (3 more authors) (2023) The relational dimensions of renovation: Implications for retrofit policy. Energy Research and Social Science, 96. 102916. ISSN 2214-6296
Abstract
Retrofitting the UK's housing stock is essential if the UK is to meet its climate commitments. Wider research has addressed how weaknesses in the drafting and implementation of retrofit policy have slowed progress in this area, including the tendency to treat homeowners as discrete, isolated decision makers. We contribute to this research by exploring the wider dynamics that underpin decision-making in and around households. We make this contribution by adapting Hargreaves and Middlemiss's research into the social relations of daily energy use, and Zelizer's research into the social relations of money, to consider how social relations influence decision-making over home renovations. Our findings are based on semi-structured interviews with homeowners in Otley, West Yorkshire, which we conducted from September to December 2021. This interview data demonstrates how the dynamic nature of relations with family and friends, tradespeople, gender, and money, shapes the reasons why people undertake renovations and what they aim to gain from undertaking these works. Focusing on wider renovations enabled us to speak with people who are not already engaged with retrofit policy, shedding light on possible interventions that target ‘able-to-pay’ owner-occupiers. For instance, we highlight the need to identify how people develop trust with tradespeople; account for different social groups' relations to the home; and to foreground how the role of the home changes through time.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Social relations; Energy efficiency; Renovations; Retrofit; Energy policy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Sociology and Social Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Jan 2023 17:00 |
Last Modified: | 16 Jan 2023 17:00 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.erss.2022.102916 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:195153 |