For energy-efficient homes, it’s not the buildings, it’s the people

We must make older homes more energy efficient, but as chartered building surveyor Brigid Browne points out, we must also change people’s behaviour.

It is one thing to enhance
a building’s energ rating
but it is crucial we all
educate ourselves and
turn down that thermostat.

In almost every discussion on healthy homes, the focus is almost exclusively on the design and specifications of the building. Rarely does it encompass the behaviour of the occupants once the keys are handed over. But behaviour actually has the biggest part to play when it comes to living in an energy efficient home whether new or old. Traditional buildings are where I notice behavioural issues the most.

The definition of traditional buildings may be found in a number of Department of Housing and Local Government and Heritage publications but most recently it appeared in Improving Energy Efficiency in Traditional Buildings, Guidance for Specifiers and Installers (DHLGH 2023).