黑料福利网

Part of the MMIP/IEBB 3&4 research program (13M in financing, 125 organizations on board)

T van Casteren (PhD research) 鈥� IV Ossokina 鈥� TA Arentze. Collaboration with foundation Buurkracht and municipality Eindhoven.

Making homes energy-efficient is one of the biggest challenges in meeting climate targets. Yet even with subsidies and clear benefits, many homeowners do not retrofit their homes. This research exploited individual linked data and data science methods to find out how social and peer influences can help, i.e. how much individuals can be motivated by the actions or opinions of others in their surroundings. We made use of large datasets, including 1.7M individual home owners and 78 community-led retrofit campaigns.

Strongest effects emerged when people actively engaged with each other (active peer influence). An analysis of 78 community-led retrofit campaigns covering around 70,000 households showed that local community leaders (鈥渂lock leaders鈥�) significantly increased participation among neighbours living within 200 meters鈥攅ven before the leaders installed retrofit measures themselves. This highlights a clear, practical lesson: well-chosen local ambassadors can be highly effective. Passive peer influence (being affected by visible retrofits in the surroundings) also turned to be effective, but the effect is small. These effects differed strongly by type of household, with lower-demand and older households responding more to peer signals, while households already well-positioned to adopt being less affected. This finding stresses the need for tailored approaches in energy transition. See , , .

Overall, the findings showed that peer influence works best when it is targeted, social, and embedded in communities. Passive visibility has limited impact, while active, human interaction matters much more. Our project partners鈥擬unicipality of Eindhoven and Buurkracht鈥攃ontributed significantly to shaping these insights and integrating them into their work, see . Other local authorities may find these findings useful when designing retrofit programs, for example by considering neighbourhood characteristics, the role of local leaders, and the combination of social engagement with financial and institutional support.

T Karigar (EngD research) 鈥� IV Ossokina 鈥� TA Arentze. Collaboration with housing association Woonbedrijf.

In the Netherlands, social housing represents 31% of the housing stock, making it a critical sector for speeding up transition to sustainability. However, renovation projects by housing associations require approval from 70% of tenants, making their participation essential. This creates two main challenges: understanding diverse tenant preferences and developing effective tools to support decision-making and increase acceptance of renovations.

This project developed a digital decision support tool in collaboration with housing association Woonbedrijf to enhance tenant participation and reveal preferences for energy renovations. Using online games and stated choice experiments, the study improved early-stage engagement. Tenants were segmented into renovation-averse and renovation-friendly groups: older and satisfied tenants were more resistant, while highly educated tenants, those experiencing discomfort (e.g., draught), or those with higher trust in housing associations were more supportive. Two preference types were identified: cost-focused and feature-focused. See , , , .

Housing associations should adopt participatory tools, such as the developed web application, to better understand tenant preferences and predict acceptance of renovation packages. Tailoring communication and renovation strategies to different tenant segments can improve support. Additionally, incorporating financial scenarios and interactive elements in the decision-making process can further increase tenant engagement and approval rates.

 (黑料福利网)

Tanis Karigar (黑料福利网)

Marcel Copier (Woonbedrijf)

Eva van Enk (Municipality Eindhoven)

Djoera Eerland (Buurkracht)

Jorg van Waas (Woonbedrijf)