Housing retrofit as an intervention in thermal comfort practices: Chinese and Dutch householder perspectives
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Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-020-09919-8 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Housing retrofit as an intervention in thermal comfort practices: Chinese and Dutch householder perspectives Frank J. de Feijter & Bas J.M. van Vliet Received: 18 May 2020 / Accepted: 18 November 2020 # The Author(s) 2020 Abstract Contemporary packages of housing retrofit The study presents comfort practices in relation to re- equipment are based on models of expected energy cently retrofitted low-income housing estates in Beijing, savings with regard to globally standardized thermal Mianyang (Sichuan province, South-west China) and comfort levels. Previous research shows that the energy Amsterdam on the basis of 50 qualitative interviews savings realised after a housing retrofit is substantially with householders in each city. The paper concludes lower than expected. Attempts to reduce energy demand that the expected energy saving is counteracted by a by physical re-design, utilising technical standards for poor match between conventional retrofit packages thermal comfort as well as financial incentives, tend to and householders’ considerations about their thermal ignore the role of retrofit interventions in the construc- comfort. To better reduce energy demand and to miti- tion of everyday practices of thermal comfort making. gate energy poverty, retrofit packages should provide Thermal comfort practices of heating, cooling and ven- adaptive thermal comfort as preferred by householders, tilation are moderated by specific householders’ moti- rather than fixed or tightly specified thermal comfort. vations which constitute ‘wants’ and emerging ‘needs’ Such a perspective may support a more flexible and in the interaction with the housing retrofit equipment. inclusive use of housing equipment as part of retrofit This paper proposes that the interactions between the programs. retrofitted buildings and the householders are the sum of material affordances, as signified by the design of the Keywords Housing retrofit . Housing equipment . housing equipment on the one hand, and the practical Affordances . Thermalcomfort . Social practices . Energy affordances in practices-as-performances on the other. saving . Amsterdam . Beijing . Mianyang Highlights • Thermal comfort should not be treated as fixed but as an adaptive social construct. • Considerations about thermal comfort vary widely among China and the Netherlands. • Current retrofit policies in China and the Netherlands externalise relations between householders and technologies. • Retrofit packages need to fit with existing and emerging thermal comfort practices. F. J. de Feijter (*) : B. J. van Vliet Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University & Research, B. J. van Vliet Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands e-mail: bas.vanvliet@wur.nl e-mail: frank.defeijter@wur.nl
2 Page 2 of 18 Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2
Introduction Householders are knowledgeable agents in
achieving thermal comfort in their home and sur-
A recent study revealed that after energy retrofitting roundings (Chappells and Shove 2005). They take
of housing complexes, the realized energy savings are actions to reach the thermal comfort they want. They
30–40% lower than theoretically expected (Sunikka- are not just passive receivers of externally provided
Blank and Galvin 2012; Galvin and Sunnika-Blank packages of retrofit equipment that affect their apart-
2017). This substantial lower energy saving in the ments (Strengers 2008; Winther and Wilhite 2015).
building improvement is largely attributable to differ- Therefore, when thermal comfort is conceived as an
ent understandings of thermal comfort between ex- achievable condition from a householder perspec-
perts’ (building installation engineers, architects and tive, attention should be turned to evolving everyday
government regulators) on the one hand and house- activities for achieving thermal comfort or solving
holders on the other (Hinton 2010). An explanation discomfort by a range of thermal comfort practices
for the gap between theory and practice is the appli- like heating, ventilation and cooling (Tweed et al.
cation of a strict techno-economic approach to 2014; Hitching et al. 2015). Householders’ activities
retrofitting which focuses on globally standardised to achieve thermal comfort are shaped by social
indoor comfort levels (Moezzi and Janda 2014). Due conventions, fellow dwellers and by competences
to the variety of existing and emerging indoor comfort and motivations to work with the options their hous-
levels within and between households, the energy use ing equipment offers.
in identical homes can vary by a factor of 3 to 4 The concept of affordances may help to capture the
(Gram-Hanssen 2010). This seems to reveal a poor meaningful social and operational relationship of house-
understanding of the role of householders in retrofit holders with their retrofitted material environment as
provision (IPCC 2014). performed in their actual consumption practices. In this
When retrofit providers frame indoor comfort as a study, the concept of ‘affordances’ refers to the actual
definable condition, the conventional logic is to retrofit technical possibilities or obstacles of the material retrofit
indoor environments that deliver it (Guy and Shove environment in the context of practical action of house-
2000; Van Vliet et al. 2005). Designers of conventional holders at hand (Ingold 1992, 2000, 2018). This high-
housing retrofit equipment for energy saving assume lights the urgent need for an integrated approach to
that the householders use the house and surroundings housing retrofitting that combines changes of action
as ‘intended’ after the improvement of wall insulation, possibilities in technical features and conditions with a
window attributes, installations of heating, mechanical parallel re-shaping of householders’ views and practices
ventilation and cooling (Macrorie et al. 2015). Globally to achieve real and lasting reductions in energy use
standardised indoor comfort levels are mostly based on (Jensen et al. 2018). Subsequently, the question is
a fixed definition of thermal comfort, like setting a whether energy saving technologies and building com-
comfort zone of 18 to 21 °C (Chappells and Shove ponents of retrofit packages are fit for the way in which
2005; Wilhite 2009). Assuming a ‘one-size-fits-all’ ther- householders already are making thermal comfort in
mal comfort level potentially underestimates other ther- their apartments (Shove 2003) and are able to shape
mal comfort motivations, including domestic well-be- the thermal comfort making in the future. These thermal
ing, health, control, familiarity, tradition, costs and comfort practices consist of different elements, fusing
beauty, which determine energy demand and ‘normal’ meaning, skills and competences, and material condi-
daily life (Ellsworth-Krebs et al. 2015; Cherry et al. tions and incorporating wider societal and cultural con-
2017). Understandings of energy demand as being ac- ditions (Rau et al. 2020). Interfered by energy poverty
commodated in wider socio-material systems would challenges, satisfying thermal comfort has been
lead to a broader range of strategies of retrofit. For achieved by householders at a variety of temperatures
instance, with an alternative and broader view, energy (Shove 2006). This calls for attention to a broader cross-
retrofitting would take into account social conventions, cultural understanding of why householders use energy
differentiated meanings of thermal comfort, location of and how these reasons are constituting comfort ‘wants’
activity, moving around the house, food, bedding and in existing use and ‘needs’ in emerging use of technol-
clothing, instead of only building insulation or energy ogies and building components in their apartment
saving appliances (Maller and Strengers 2014). (Wilhite et al. 1996; Hitching et al. 2015).Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 Page 3 of 18 2
The focus of this paper is on how the material householder perspective’ is deepened in the ‘Empirical
affordances of designed retrofit packages ‘mediate’ section’ , where this is extrapolated in relation to
practical affordances in social-cultural system dynamics thermal comfort practices of householders. Finally,
of thermal comfort practices. To demonstrate how di- the ‘Discussion’ and the ‘Conclusion’ formulate findings,
verse material infrastructures and devices in provision- possible implications and guidelines on thermal comfort
based retrofitting of apartment buildings are and housing retrofit from a householder perspective.
(mis-)aligned with their socio-cultural setting (Foulds
et al. 2013; Ozaki and Shaw 2014), this study chooses
to draw on results from widely differing socio-cultural
Affordances of housing retrofit
settings, namely those of China (Beijing and Mianyang,
Sichuan province, South-west China) and the Nether-
The concept of ‘affordances’ offers a bridging concept to
lands (Amsterdam). This study takes full advantage of
relate the crucial social role of both householders’ do-
the range of contexts provided by this research highlight-
mestic practices and the technical housing materials. This
ing the opportunities for comparison and contrast. In the
section starts with defining affordances (‘Defining
case studies of retrofitting in these three cities, house-
affordances’). Based on the chosen definition, two as-
holders re-assemble new sets of material infrastructures
pects of affordances are further described in ‘Affordances
and devices in the retrofitted apartment buildings, cope
as material properties of the real environment in retrofit
with them in various ways and continue to perform their
design’ and ‘Affordances as perceived by an agent in a
thermal comfort practices. By doing so, our focus on the
context of practical action in everyday domestic life’.
cities in China and the Netherlands, as very different
research contexts, will deliver insights on multiple con-
ditions in housing retrofitting and everyday life. Defining affordances
This paper seeks to answer the following question: In
what ways do material affordances of designed retrofit The concept of affordances is introduced by ecological
packages for energy saving match with practical psychologist James Gibson (1979) to refer to the ‘in-
affordances in thermal comfort practices and what are between’ of the perceiving humans and the material
the implications for future retrofit policies in China and circumstances to investigate functional aspects of the
the Netherlands? We take retrofitted configurations of environment. The environment shapes the actions of the
building technology and thermal comfort practices as perceiver, it is portrayed as an environment where almost
the functional unit of analysis. The identification of nothing changes, fluctuates, moves or flows (Kuoppa
socially inclusive housing equipment for energy saving et al. 2019). The concept of affordances as defined by
and successful thermal comfort strategies include an Gibson emphasises the environment as the shaper of
understanding of how and whether shifts in affective action positionalities, which makes affordances not de-
dimensions in thermal comfort practices influence ener- pendent on values and meanings and past experiences.
gy demand in more ‘closed’ (prescribed) or ‘open’ (non- Donald Norman (1988) deviates from Gibson in his
prescribed) designs of large-scale retrofit apartments. positioning that past knowledge and design experiences
This would help circular economy policy-makers, spa- may be involved in characterizing the existence of the
tial planners and the retrofit industry to develop alterna- affordance. As a cognitive scientist and one of the
tive strategies for energy retrofit. founding fathers of the user-centred design movement,
The next section presents theoretical considerations Norman emphasises the importance of the user interface
of the material affordances of the actual housing retrofit in how technical objects could be designed to encourage
packages in relation to the practical affordances in ther- or constrain specific actions. With his perspective of
mal comfort practices. The section ‘Methodology’ pre- affordances, Norman wanted to learn how the human
sents and explains the choice of case studies and qual- mind works, especially in terms of human errors, want-
itative research methods. This is followed by a section ing to teach people how to avoid making mistakes
presenting background information of housing equip- (Bucher and Helmond 2018). Norman’s view on
ment and thermal comfort in current retrofitting policies affordances remains in the realm of the designer, beyond
of China and the Netherlands. Following on the short- householders’ ability to perceive, select or act on them
comings of the current retrofit approaches, ‘the (Parchoma 2014).2 Page 4 of 18 Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2
To introduce a householder perspective to together in our conceptual approach, shows the connect-
affordances more inclusively, Tweed (2013) and edness of ‘practical action’ with the ‘physical properties
Kuoppa et al. 2019 argue that in housing studies, the of retrofit packages’ in such a way that it makes little
concept of affordances is promising to scrutinize the sense to consider things—buildings, systems, technolo-
designed living environment and links of experiences gies etc.—in isolation from the diverse roles of
with technologies as integrated into domestic practices, performing people involved in the design, production
building on Ingold (1992). The origin of Ingold’s inter- and eventual use (Tweed 2013).
est in the concept of affordances is based on the potential As a result, affordances are in this paper not only
of affordances to bridge the dualism between the mate- considered as a designed technological construct but
rial world and the social-culturally constructed world also as embodied in the performances of practices and
(Ingold 2000). Inhabiting a house is not exclusively a thereby connected to culture, past knowledge, aspira-
question of being an operator of a physical structure, tions and experiences (Clapham 2011). So the embodied
including technologies, but also a matter of preserving practices of householders in their context of practical
and creating a comfortable home organically. The home action are related to the designed possibilities or obsta-
is neither just a material structure nor simply a social cles of action properties in the actual material
construct, it is a situated concept that merges social environment.
and material domains. For him, this shows that
affordances need to be understood as being relation- Affordances as material properties of the real
al: they arise from interactions between people, the environment in retrofit design
technologies and the envisioned designs of the arte-
facts in a practical context (Ingold 2018). In the The term housing retrofitting finds its origin in the
view of Ingold, the real environment is a lived place United States in the 1940s and 1950s and describes the
of activities, where skills develop, and understand- physical large-scale updating of outmoded housing
ings of affordances are grown (Parchoma 2014; equipment (Dixon and Eames 2013). This means ‘ret-
Baborska-Narozny and Stevenson 2019). By doing rofit’ is about adding one or more new technologies,
so, the concept of affordances becomes more closely building systems, or equipment to the original building
related to the field of anthropology and phenome- to specifically upgrade the functionality of the apart-
nology and emphasises the role of body and skills, ment. One of the main delivery models in housing
as situated in their structured surroundings (Tweed retrofit is where retrofit providers coordinate the forced
2013). Ingold defines affordances as: retrofit on the scale of the community (Jankel 2013).
These programmes of regulations, incentive
Affordances are properties of the real environment programmes and information provision go beyond the
as directly perceived by an agent in a context of individualist houses to recognise the housing stock as a
practical action (Ingold 1992). collection of houses within a specific geographical area
(Karvonen 2018). The design of housing retrofitting
From the definition of Ingold, two aspects of
equipment at the community level co-determines ther-
affordances could be further operationalised to study
mal comfort management in multiple ways. The use of
housing retrofit technologies and thermal comfort prac-
the retrofit equipment is designed by retrofit providers
tices. In the context of housing retrofit, the first aspect of
who make implicit choices for users in housing equip-
‘affordances as material properties of the real environ-
ment packages and settings to prompt specific responses
ment’ becomes visible in the actual design choices for
and to constrain others (Akrich 1992). This
material objects which define the roles of how the
‘standardisation’ of householders’ thermal comfort be-
householders may use the material objects to determine
comes for example explicit in the adjustment of housing
the usability. The second aspect of ‘affordances as per-
equipment (Rinkinen and Jalas 2017). Thinking along
ceived by an agent in a context of practical action’ could
the lines of material affordances, actual housing
be located in the way the material artifacts are used by
retrofitting may not only mean the development and
householders in their everyday lives. The latter may help
implementation of new housing equipment for house-
to measure the usefulness of the introduced retrofitted
holders but also the construction of householders’ roles
technologies. Bringing the two aspects of affordances
in achieving comfort. The designs of housing equipmentEnergy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 Page 5 of 18 2
can be either more directive, conflicting or more social- beyond simple categorizations around physical housing
inclusive, or flexible, complementing and hence aspects, ownership constructions, size of the apartment,
obstructing or facilitating certain existing and newly and focus instead on the experiences, and practices of
emerging thermal comfort practices. dwelling. As explained by Tim Ingold (1992, 2000,
One option in constructing such roles through retrofit 2018), these material affordances of actual housing
is to minimize ‘misuse’ by householders and dismiss equipment are not isolated or static constructs but part
them from the need to engage with optimizing building of a complicated clockwork of everyday life.
energy performance and thermal comfort, by choosing Apart from constraints, material affordances of retro-
discrete options for building improvement (Karjalainen fit packages afford degrees of agency, opening up a field
2013; Madsen and Gram-Hanssen 2017). Householders of potential practices that would not otherwise be pos-
are then considered ‘passive robots’, who need to use sible. From this perspective, since material affordances
the technologies as designed by the professionals are characteristically situational and relational, the re-
(Wilhite 2008, 2009; Moezzi and Janda 2014), or for search should rather be anchored to real-life contexts.
whom ‘barriers’ to technology diffusion are removed by
educating them in the ‘correct’ operation of technical Affordances as perceived by an agent in a context
devices as intended by designers (Judson and Maller of practical action in everyday domestic life
2014). The second option to a retrofit design is to give a
more active role to householders in operating the retrofit Social dimensions of households and (smart) retrofitting
products. Such a retrofit approach tends to consider housing systems are indistinguishable from the material
householders as economically rational actors who want and technical dimensions. Housing equipment can be
to optimize their thermal comfort via technologies in understood as a prefiguring composite that both shapes
line with financial incentives to prevent over- and is shaped by conventions, expectations and skills in
consumption (Galvin and Sunnika-Blank 2017). Finan- thermal comfort practices. Decisive in thermal comfort
cial incentives are considered the easiest way to predict practices is the interaction between people, organisa-
and guide voluntary daily consumer choices (Karvonen tions, technologies—together with buildings—and the
2013). broader socio-cultural setting. According to Ingold
Because of the great variety of affordances, Tweed (2000), this offers a radically alternative way of think-
(2013) and Kuoppa et al. (2019) propose to capture the ing, about the meanings, as they are not attached to
whole range of affordances not only in strictly function- objects but discovered in practices. Coolen (2015) ex-
al terms but also what is (un)desirable and meaningful or plains how a house could be described in Giddens’
meaningless from a householder perspective. terms as a locale for certain social practices of the
Distinguishing positive and negative sides of household in the course of a day; it is the place where
affordances may help to unravel different technical as- the activities and interactions of the different members
pects of retrofitting, in relation to different elements of of the household take place and intersect. By using the
domestic practices, consisting of materials, meanings locale’s settings—for example, heating in the living
and competences. Including the whole range of negative room, ventilating in the kitchen and bathroom, cooling
and also positive affordances helps to do more justice to in the sleeping room and garden, and so on—such social
the complexity in the relationships between different practices constitute meaning to the activities and inter-
aspects of affordances (Baborska-Narozny and Steven- actions with housing equipment.
son 2019; Kuoppa et al. 2019). Positive affordances are Practices from the residents’ perspective are not only
potentially beneficial in a householder context, with a functional but also desirable and meaningful (Kuoppa
strong fit between designed retrofit technologies and et al. 2019). For researching affordances of housing
domestic practices. Negative affordances are potentially retrofit packages, practice theory offers new concepts
harmful in a householder context due to a misfit between for understanding how householders manage thermal
both (Parchoma 2014; Coolen 2015). comfort. Whilst this paper sets off with technological
In this paper, an affordance is connected to the spe- configurations in housing retrofitting, ‘material’ is only
cific resident’s intentions, needs and preferences and not one of the elements shaping practices. Focusing on one
only an equivalent to the material ‘function’ (Zapata- element in isolation is insufficient, as also histories and
Lancaster and Tweed 2016). This means one should go trajectories of socially shared conventions, skills and2 Page 6 of 18 Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2
past-knowledge are crucial for an understanding of do- Methodology
mestic energy consumption. Andreas Reckwitz, defines
a practice as: Since affordances are characteristically situational and
relational, the research should be anchored to a real
A ‘practice’ is a routinised type of behaviour, everyday life context. To better understand how material
which consists of several elements interconnected affordances of retrofitted housing equipment influences
to one other; forms of bodily activities, forms of practical affordances of thermal comfort, situated activ-
mental activities, ‘things’ and their use, a back- ities are investigated at multiple times and multiple sites.
ground knowledge in the form of understanding, Because of the different polarised ways affordances can
know-how, states of emotion and motivational be experienced both negative affordances (what the
knowledge (Reckwitz 2002, p. 249). retrofitted apartment cannot afford) and positive
Social practice theory explains how energy use via affordances (what the retrofitted apartment may afford)
heating, ventilation or cooling equipment is linked to need to be identified (Coolen 2015). To unravel housing
shared everyday thermal activities in the home (Wilhite retrofit affordances in relation to thermal comfort prac-
2008). Households do not literally ‘consume’ energy but tices, the qualitative method of semi-structured
utilise energy by using appliances and building compo- interviewing is used for socio-cultural microanalysis
nents as part of executing domestic practices. The uses of (Gram-Hanssen 2013) together with the observation of
the retrofitted apartment lead to new experiences, aspira- both the retrofitted apartments and the performance of
tions and needs (Kuoppa et al. 2019). Thermal comfort thermal comfort practices. This adds the dimension of
practices, as considered in this study, are characterised as studying ‘through’ the subject under question rather
regular patterns in the use of equipment for heating, than looking only from the outside, and brings the
cooling and ventilation and other actions taken to accom- details of what householders actually do, as well as what
plish thermal comfort requirements (see also Hanmer et al. they say in an interview setting. Additionally, the rele-
2019). This could help to provide valuable insights into the vant retrofit policies on local and national scales have
timing, location, cultural context, materiality and perfor- been covered in a literature review.
mance of a range of interconnected thermal comfort prac- Three cities are chosen: Beijing, Mianyang in China
tices related to (energy) consumption (Jensen et al. 2018). and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The three cities are
With the focus on householders’ thermal comfort useful candidates for comparison because they share
practices, this paper unravels how meanings and expec- comparable energy saving goals, while they also show
tations of existing and emerging thermal comfort in urban some striking differences in the design and operation of
retrofitting projects are entangled in different retrofitted their housing and energy infrastructures. Hence, the
housing equipment which influences energy consump- three different cities show a wide diversity in
tion (Ozaki and Shaw 2014). Central to our view on affordances of retrofit equipment for heating, cooling
affordances are the emergent properties of practices-as- and ventilation, which is relevant when relating the
performance, like events, time-spatially situated instanti- retrofit technologies to particular thermal comfort prac-
ation, to analyse the properties of individual actors, tices in the different socio-cultural contexts. The mod-
groups or materials (Spaargaren et al. 2016). The objec- erate sea climate in Amsterdam and its retrofit emphasis
tive of this research is to reveal some of the complexities on wall insulation and advanced technologies for
related with the intervention of housing retrofitting in heating and ventilation offers an opportunity to analyse
thermal comfort practices, which are impacted by social- practices of heating, cooling and ventilation. Looking
ly shared motivations, knowledge and technologies and for a relevant alternative in China, we decided to focus
building components (Eon et al. 2018). This requires an on Beijing with its cold land climate and its retrofit focus
emphasis on user aspects of retrofit packages in terms of on basic district heating and roof insulation, making an
thermal comfort, health, safety, affordability and tradi- analysis of heating and cooling practices possible. When
tions. Different technical user aspects of the designed doing research in Beijing, it became clear that Chinese
retrofit packages, like its flexibility, transparency, cities in more humid climate zones, like Mianyang, have
editability and multisensory dimensions, are enabled or entirely different retrofit measures which are focused on
constrained in the practice of thermal comfort making. building surroundings and building facades. This makes
the specific practices of cooling and ventilation in thisEnergy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 Page 7 of 18 2
city complementary to those in Beijing. All in all, the The used topic list contained questions about general
differences between the three cities help us to include a building characteristics (size of the apartment, window-
broad range of thermal comfort practices for heating, direction, apartment location in the building, renting or
cooling and ventilation in our analysis. owned, family-structure, number of bedrooms etc.), ways
In total, 150 interviews with householders have been of heating, ventilation and cooling (What kind of tech-
executed in the three cities, 50 in Beijing in June 2017, nologies and low-tech strategies are you using for
50 in Mianyang in October 2017 and 50 in Amsterdam heating, ventilation and cooling?), affective dimensions
in December and January 2017. In China, interpreters for heating, ventilation and cooling (What are your main
helped with executing the interviews and the interpreta- motivations for executing your specified ways of heating,
tions were discussed with the Chinese project team. A ventilation and cooling?), the evaluation of the options
selection criterion for the housing retrofit projects is that for cooling, ventilation and heating after the retrofit (How
the retrofit is organised at the community level and do you evaluate the retrofitted building and the options
governed by the provisioning actors (local government, for cooling, ventilation, heating, comfort and energy
housing association, architectural design companies and saving?). As the aim was an in-depth and detailed under-
construction companies) rather than by individual standing, rather than quantitative descriptions, the possi-
homeowners. In every city, four retrofit projects were bilities for statistical analysis are limited (Galvin 2015).
researched to overcome a bias based on single project The interview transcripts have been coded and analysed
characteristics. Multiple case studies (Table 1) are help- for recurrent themes and key topics to develop the story-
ful to enhance reliability and validity by more elabora- line in the presentation of findings.
tive testing of the empirical findings.
In all three cities, the interviews are a mix of in-depth
conversations ‘inside’ retrofitted apartments by using a Context of retrofit equipment and thermal comfort
show-and-tell strategy while other interviews were done
‘outside’, close to respondents’ apartments in the public Before delving into thermal comfort practices in the
space of the housing estates. The duration of the inter- Netherlands and China, we first explore housing retrofit
views was between 20 and 150 min, with an average of in China (‘Retrofit provision in China’) and the Nether-
35 min. These interviews provided a possibility for in- lands (‘Retrofit provision in the Netherlands’) from a
terviewees to display their own views in their own words. providers’ perspective on thermal comfort.
Retrofit provision in China
Table 1 Researched retrofit projects in the three cities
Name Building Retrofit Thermal comfort in retrofitting for energy saving in
year construction China focuses on passive technical housing improve-
period
ments, by adding insulation and/or the provision of
Het Breed (Amsterdam) 1968 2013–2016 optional windows. The first state-level policy guideline
Plesman (Amsterdam) 1958 2014–2015 for energy efficiency in the building sector was intro-
Koningsvrouwen van Landlust 1936 2009–2012 duced in 1986 to further cover these targets in various
(Amsterdam) climate zones in China (Shui and Li 2012). The first
Olympia (Amsterdam) 1926 2010–2014 national-level retrofitting guidance on ‘energy saving
and emission reduction for existing buildings’ was is-
Muzongchang (Mianyang) 1997 2015–2016
sued in 2012 when China also released its 12th Five-
Lishan (Mianyang) 1993 2015–2016
Year Plan. This Five-Year Plan announced a residential
Gong’an (Mianyang) 1988 2015–2016
retrofit of 400 million square metres in the Northern
Zhujianju (Mianyang) 1997 2015–2016
district heating zone—among others Beijing—and 50
Chezhan (Beijing) 1990 2015–2016 million square metres in the hot-summer and cold-
Fuchenglu (Beijing) 1986 2016–2017 winter zones without district heating—including among
Fangzhuang (Beijing) 1988 2013–2014 others Mianyang (Shui and Li 2012). The national aim
Huixin Beili (Beijing) 1988 2012–2014 is to reduce energy consumption by 16% from a 2010
baseline and by 32% from a 2005 baseline (Davoudi2 Page 8 of 18 Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2
et al. 2014). On the local level physical aspects of of a (possible) lower future energy bill and higher levels
residential buildings are expected to lead automatically of thermal comfort.
to a 75% reduction target of the heating energy use in Social dimensions of thermal comfort making in
Beijing, and 50% in Mianyang, compared to the theo- retrofitting are relevant to housing retrofit in the Neth-
retical energy consumption of the 1980s baseline (Shui erlands and in China to complement building technical
and Li 2012). Major indicators in those target policy solutions to cut energy consumption and CO2 emis-
guidelines are: centrally managed district heating, sions. In general, retrofit provision has a rather top-
insulation and manually operated windows and win- down structure without considering existing household
dow shades. Indications of householder’s usage of consumer’s ways of living.
heating and cooling in the apartments are not found
in these guidelines. One of the main financial strate-
gies to persuade householders is extensively Empirical results on thermal comfort making
subsidising retrofits or giving a discount on the op- in the Netherlands and China
tional window improvement and campaigns aimed at
energy saving with the prospect of lower post-retrofit In this section, the negative and positive affordances of
energy bills. retrofitted equipment in relation to thermal comfort
practices are presented in relation to three different
Retrofit provision in the Netherlands thermal comfort practices: heating, cooling and
ventilation.
Retrofit providers claim to produce thermal comfort in
energy retrofitting by improving wall insulation, (dou- Heating
ble glazed) windows, mechanical ventilation and intro-
ducing new heating systems. In 1975 the first national Negative affordances of low-temperature heating
energy saving subsidy policy was issued on roof insu-
lation for existing housing. In 2012, the national gov- The affordances of new low-temperature-heating instal-
ernment, housing associations and building construction lations tend to neglect the establishment of new thermal
companies committed to achieve a reduction of around comfort practices due to its complexity and adjustment
30% in the building stock energy consumption (110 PJ) difficulties. In Amsterdam, low-temperature heating
by 2020 (Majcen et al. 2013). In 2008, the agreement (LTH), made householders in retrofitted social housing
‘Energy Saving Housing Associations Sector’ stipulated complexes largely passive recipients with merely a few
that the housing association sector should realize 24 PJ controls for temperature adjustment and long reaction
reductions in energy consumption between 2008 and times. Also, the radiators are generally hot on top but
2020 (Majcen et al. 2013). Their aim is to upgrade 1.8 remain cold at the bottom. This could lead to new
million dwellings to roughly half of the theoretical en- interdependencies and only partial energy saving. One
ergy use. In policy terms, this means an upgrade to an householder explains that a turn on the heating knob of a
average energy performance label B or at least to bring millimetre makes a large difference, like ‘playing rou-
the label 2 steps higher than before. The most important lette’. This is especially the case for low-temperature
indicators in the energy labelling system are insulation heating, whereby the only way to adjust it is to turn the
and (semi-)automatically operated installations for knob (5 settings) without knowing the exact tempera-
heating and mechanical ventilation. No indicators are ture. In a particular retrofit project (Het Breed), 12 of the
used for the actual energy consumption of householders 15 interviewed householders mention they cannot get
using heating and ventilation installations in their the indoor comfort level they want and do not know
homes. Beforehand, the householders are given a limit- how to maintain their installations. The radiant heat,
ed responsibility to influence propositions of the retrofit quick reaction speed and cosiness of the old gas heater
plan. Showing a common belief in technical fix ap- are appreciated although some use an additional heater
proaches, retrofit providers typically assume that house- or candles. An elder householder:
holders can be persuaded to accept the largely provider-
paid standardised retrofitting activities for energy sav- My experience with low-temperature-heating is
ing. The main instrument for persuading is the prospect negative because I want to adjust the temperatureEnergy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 Page 9 of 18 2
more when feeling ill or cold [...] The new system morning (Householder #27, Olympia, Amster-
is less reactive, inflexible and it runs slower dam, 28-11-2017).
(Householder #2, Het Breed, Amsterdam, 12-12-
The new heating system is interfered by humidity
2017).
levels, the number of inhabitants, the location in the
The interdependency between householders and apartment building and how neighbours below heat their
technology appliances, such as heat pumps and solar homes, resulting in occasional ‘floor heating’. When
PV, does not only refer to the ability to clean and to shut householders in Mianyang indicate that they want dis-
down for silence but also to usability. While some tributed heating, they describe a system which is cheap
householders express lower energy costs, a couple liv- in use and easily changeable for different rooms. Instead
ing on the ground floor showed us their heating bill of of only giving financial responsibility to householders in
around €700 extra yearly payment and describe their Mianyang and Amsterdam, an improved design of new
apartment still as quite cold. This reveals significant heating systems is needed to deliver predictability, feed-
gaps between the projected re-design intent and its back and quick reaction times.
energy performance, and the heating bill. The house-
holders are also not free to install another heating Negative affordances of automatic district heating
system which makes them feel locked into the system.
Even when designed as semi-automatic systems, a The affordances of automatically operated district
blurred user interaction due to the complexity of heating in Beijing could lead to a negative match be-
heating systems emerges in passive counteractive ther- tween the retrofit intervention and householders’ needs,
mal comfort practices, which end in a limited energy which can cause new problems for energy efficiency in
saving. This illustrates that monitoring feedback on the their daily lives. The need for flexibility was observed in
design is necessary to understand why novel thermal Beijing where adding wall insulation and offering a
comfort practices with new installations are working as discount for better windows and window frames is at
they do. the core of retrofitting high-rise buildings for low-
income communities. The automatically ‘upstream’ op-
erated district heating systems still run for 24 h every
Positive affordances of high-efficiency heating boiler day, regardless of whether the residents are at home or
not. A problem is the rigidity of the improved insulation
While some heating installations of apartments in Am- in combination with a heating system which has a rigid
sterdam are getting more complex and unpredictable, 24/7 working period between 15 November to 15 March
the interviewed residents appreciate affordances of and lacks control options, heating meters or real usage
heating installations based on high-efficiency boilers bills. A badly balanced district heating system can result
with programmable options. Householders like to have in failures to meet energy saving targets. Only adding
a timer-based ‘goal thermostat’ with simple system insulation in combination with bad engineering compli-
feedback options allowing for temperature adjustments cates the heat balance in an apartment building, which
for the whole room; 40 out of 50 interviewed residents makes many householders dissatisfied with the indoor
point to the removal of draft and moisture when they temperature and make it necessary to open windows to
evaluated the options their apartment offers to control dissipate heat. Roughly 35 out of 50 interviewed resi-
and realise ‘well-being’. Residents are only willing to dents report overheating of their apartments. While
sacrifice their well-being for financial considerations or some householders have inside temperatures of 27 °C
energy saving to a certain extent. A householder shares: or even more, other householders still feel extremely
cold. A householder mentions:
I am satisfied with my new boiler with the pro-
grammable heating options. All the rooms have a During the winter the district heating temperature
radiator and it does not take much time to get the is not high enough in my apartment. I need to heat
spaces up to a certain temperature [...] The radi- with air-conditioning if the outside temperature is
ator in her bedroom is turned off. Only when I feel below 0 °C (Householder #23, Fangzhuang, Bei-
very cold, I turn it on for a short time in the jing, 15-06-2017).2 Page 10 of 18 Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2
Householders in Beijing tend to critique passive 25% of the householders even up to ¥5000 (€750) or
affordances of district heating systems which could more. Most residents need to use additional heating in
bring the energy saving into trouble. Narrowly defined the weeks ‘before’ and ‘after’ the district heating period
standardised improvements give householders the expe- because of changing outdoor climate conditions. To
rience of being ‘locked-in’ to new unwanted practices. enable householders to save energy in relation to their
In Amsterdam, the inescapability of unwanted automat- thermal comfort practices, it is therefore crucial to in-
ic frost protection is illustrated in a heating bill of €400/ clude the seasonal weather conditions into the design of
year for a poor householder who did not turn on the the retrofit packages.
heating at all as a result of improved insulation. Also, in
Mianyang automatic heating systems are not appreciat-
ed, 40 of the 50 interviewed householders do not desire Cooling
combined wall insulation and district heating systems.
Negative affordances of energy in-efficient
air-conditioning devices
Positive affordances of adjustable district heating
The yearly rising use of electronic cooling devices is
Some interviewed householders in Beijing experience badly afforded in existing retrofitting designs for energy
positive affordances in suitable thermal comfort prac- saving. Unburdening householders is not introduced in
tices with regard to their ‘individualised’ adjustable the current retrofit approach as it does not take into
district heating systems, after self-made re-engineering. account residents’ attempts to use technologies in the
After the retrofit of the building walls, householders in same energy in-efficient ways as before the retrofit. In
Beijing react to the current inadaptability of the central retrofitted communities in Beijing, this becomes visible
district heating with the wish ‘to do what you want’ to in the performance of practices handling thermal com-
be thermally comfortable and staying warm in the win- fort. In one retrofit in Beijing, air-conditioning security
ter. This highlights the ‘socially negotiated’ nature of bars are included in the building facade, but still the
emerging thermal comfort in a specific climate and calls retrofitting does not solve the problems with old air-
for an evaluation of inter-occupant comfort variation conditionings. The situation is problematic since in-
and ways to manage housing infrastructures. One comes have risen from the late 1990s on and multiple
householder in Beijing says: air-conditioning devices have become prevalent. The
devices are energy in-efficient and also produce noise
I am very satisfied with my personal improvement and draught. While 5 years earlier, the majority of
to the heating system [...] Together with an engi- householders turned on the air-conditioning only in the
neer, I changed the one-pipe heating system with smallest rooms after coming home from work, and only
an extra pipe circuit with my neighbor below. I for a short period of time, nowadays, householders
can adjust the temperature a little bit better in this describe their air-conditioning usage is rising every
way (Householder #15, Fuchenglu, Beijing, 10- year, notwithstanding the retrofit. In the end, the hous-
06-2017). ing retrofit has not been able to counter this rise of air-
After the improved wall insulation, 42 of the 50 conditioning usage. A couple admits:
interviewed householders in Beijing requested to have
a simple adjustable heating system for more ‘quality of Ten years ago we bought the last air-conditioning
life’. Their heating practices are intertwined with basic [...] We did not look into the energy label specif-
‘traditional ways of living’ and ‘costs’. Examples of ically, but since the retrofit we are quite interested
in more energy efficient devices. We had hoped for
traditional thermal comfort making are clothing strate-
an attractive offer by the retrofit provider (House-
gies in Mianyang and Beijing, like long johns/autumn
holder #6, Fuchenglu, Beijing, 10-06-2017).
pants, winter pyjamas and woolly in-soles. In Amster-
dam, flexible modes of thermal comfort making were The desire for unburdening is also the case in
observed in the use of sweaters, thick socks, flip flops Mianyang, where the electricity grid is incapable of
and blankets. Finally, Beijing’ residents are willing to covering peak demands. To prevent over-consumption
pay a one-time contribution of ¥2000 (€300), roughly of energy, the design of electronic cooling options inEnergy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 Page 11 of 18 2
housing retrofit should be linked to householder engage- explicitly mentioned in 21 of the 50 interviews as im-
ment in existing thermal comfort practices. In Amster- portant rationality towards retrofitting. Instead of using
dam, the existing problem of conventional smart meters only financial incentives to realise energy saving, inte-
which do not measure appliance-specific energy use has gration of existing health incentives in a ‘widened’
not been addressed in the retrofit. Also, humidity meters retrofit design would be helpful for the appropriation
are not integrated into smart meter devices and so mois- of retrofit in domestic life.
ture problems may remain also after the retrofit.
Negative affordances of public spaces
Positive affordances of triangle-shaped roofs
The way in which the retrofitted building interlocks with
Positive affordances become visible in the valuation of the design of the surrounding public infrastructures can
the natural air-cooling potential of the retrofitted build- result in negative affordances for existing cooling prac-
ings in Beijing by adding suitable triangle-shaped roofs. tices in Mianyang. In hot Mianyang’s summers, house-
This is done by matching retrofit with the priorities and holders feel the consequences of the removal of green
interests of householders to reach the goals of energy from familiar public spaces as it could constrain the
retrofitting. Many householders in Beijing want to im- energy saving by providing limited shade:
prove the energy efficiency of especially air-
conditionings as the changing of other housing infra- I need to use more air-conditioning in the Summer
structures like the shading from overhangs, window which is costly [...] my apartment has become
orientation, floor level and space proportioning is de- only hotter since the trees in the public space have
pendent on the regulation on security, and air- and noise been removed during the retrofit (Householder
pollution. However, in one project, a young couple #2, Lishan, Mianyang, 20-10-2017).
considers positive results of the new triangle-shaped
The large-scale centralised introduction of more
roofs and new windows to inflate cool air:
parking lots makes the public space less enjoyable as a
walking area and meeting place for a sense of commu-
The temperature is acceptable after the improved
nity. A common practice of householders in China is to
roof insulation [...] During the summer we have
the windows always open on both sides and the do a small promenade in the shared public space after
wind can blow through the apartment which is the meal to contribute to digestion and to enjoy the
quite convenient [...] We also use turning fans coolness of the evening accompanied by a handheld
during lunchtime and watching TV very often. fan. Also in Amsterdam, the urban green space, indoor
This is more convenient than air-conditioning and balcony plants are valued as an easily controllable
(Householder #1, Cheznan, Beijing, 18-06-2017). and maintainable small-scale local strategy to relax and
cool down. Another effect in Mianyang is that the
Emphasising cooling by natural air is important be- householders become more dissatisfied with the win-
cause the electricity consumption of air-conditioning is dow fences when it is 30–35 °C inside the apartments in
not hampered by high energy bills as these remain very July and August. When zooming in, most external win-
low in comparison to householders’ monthly expendi- dow fences are designed to protect against garbage
ture. When asking for the costs of electricity, most falling. However, the new window fences are too noisy
respondents answered ‘I do not know’. Also, there were with the water dripping down from the air-conditionings
hardly any environmental concerns mentioned. To sta- and offer, in combination with window fences, hardly
bilise the existing trends of air-conditioning usage, 45 of possibilities to dry clothes outside. This is a problem
50 interviewed householders in Beijing mention ‘health’ because drying clothes inside the hot apartment can be
as a driver. Health considerations drive householders to smelly, unhealthy and takes a long time. When translat-
energy efficiency by regularly setting temperatures to 26 ing householder’ experiences into the retrofit design, it
°C and rarely use the sleeping mode. One of the ideas of is important to combine centralised, large-scale solu-
householders is to obtain new air-conditioners by tions and the decentralised, small-scale and low-cost
changing the semi-automatic mode from currently 24 solutions.
°C or 25 to 26 °C. In Amsterdam, health was also2 Page 12 of 18 Energy Efficiency (2021) 14:2
Positive affordances of window shades levels of insulation have become the standard. Hence, in
the eyes of some retrofit providers it is necessary to
On the other hand, an inclusive retrofit design of the ‘improve’ mechanical ventilation systems and to regu-
building facade could include adaptable window shades late CO2 levels with heat recovery. However, a chal-
with positive affordances for energy saving. Instead of lenge is that these systems are not delivering full energy
costly and disruptive large-scale retrofitting of their savings if residents will keep on opening the windows or
indoor apartment, householders of Mianyang favour closing off the system, which many householders still
simple low-cost improvements of the public space, like do:
urban green infrastructures or additional shading facili-
ties. Depending on their preferences, householders with The idea of closing windows to let the automatic
a southern window orientation and high floor level want mechanical heat exchanger do the work is not
to have less sunlight in the summer while the house- understood by householders. Many windows are
holders on the lower located floors want to have more still opened (Householder #48, Koningsvrouwen
sunlight in the winter. Also, curtains are considered less van Landlust, Amsterdam, 19-12-2017).
effective because the fresh air cannot enter easily and the Another reported challenge of the inconvenient con-
heat is kept ‘inside’ the building. To leave the heat trol features of these mechanical ventilation systems
outside, the current window shades and fences do not with heat recovery is that it could automatically bring
offer enough flexible options to adjust the sunlight. in smells from the neighbours and they seem to produce
Some of the householders want to be able to remove a lot of dust. Maybe due to bad engineering, particular
the window shed temporarily, while others want to have householders mention an ‘explosion’ of silverfishes (in-
privacy and the ‘cool look’ of identical coloured en- sects preferring humid spaces), inadequate noise insula-
larged window fences; 20 of the 50 interviewed house- tion and some need to use a moisture absorber. Some
holders in Mianyang emphasise the importance of ad- householders describe how they cannot walk barefoot
justable window shades to have better possibilities to inside because of the cold floors for which they blame
adjust the sunlight. One householder explains: the obligated under-doors air gaps. Instead of the warm
convection flows, householders feel automatic cold air
The window shades are okay [...] The flexibility flowing from ventilation grilles in their neck when
and adjustability of the window shades are quite watching television. To illustrate their active perfor-
important to block the sun, especially in summer.
mances, residents actively use the options to cover filter
(Householder #25, Muzongchang, Mianyang, 03-
vents and under-door air gaps, conceal units from view,
10-2017).
obstruct exhaust valves or completely disable systems.
The cooling potential of the flexible retrofitted win- These examples illustrate that to prevent bad engineer-
dow fences and public spaces appear underexploited in ing, it implies connecting retrofit design solutions to
retrofit standards in Mianyang. Simple and familiar emerging performances of everyday life practices.
practical solutions of householders to counter discom-
fort are easily counteracted by the current generic retro-
fit designs. Positive affordances of mechanical extract ventilation
In contrast, other thermal comfort practices in everyday
Ventilation life are interwoven with more positive affordances in
relation to the installations of mechanical extract venti-
Negative affordances of mechanical ventilation lation in Amsterdam. After a retrofit, many house-
with heat recovery holders in Amsterdam are satisfied with the replacement
of the old passive stack ventilation systems. They ex-
Occupants’ satisfaction in the achievement of a ‘cosy’ plain that the old booster fans admittedly might be
living room is challenged by mostly negative insufficient or overactive to accommodate for the hu-
affordances of too complex mechanical ventilation sys- midity levels in their open kitchens, but opening win-
tems with heat recovery in Amsterdam’s social housing dows has always been an easy solution to deal with it.
retrofit projects. In contemporary retrofit projects, high This makes householders in Amsterdam more positiveEnergy Efficiency (2021) 14:2 Page 13 of 18 2
about the new and modern looking mechanical extract I do not like air-conditioning because of my health
ventilation, like one lady saying: situation. I have a traditional way of living. Still, I
cannot cool my sleeping room to my satisfaction.
What I appreciate about the mechanical extract This makes me angry at the bad old windows.
ventilation is the automatic red warning light if They are hard to slide and the design restricts to
the air quality is bad. This happens sometimes open halfway instead of completely (Householder
when I have visitors and lit candles. I like to open #50, Zhujianju, Mianyang, 05-10-2017).
the windows to ventilate when this signal occurs.
For ventilation, it is no longer self-evident to com-
[...] When I start cooking, I always press the
bine opening windows with easily movable pedestal
button for additional extraction for one hour.
fans and portable table fans, which have for a long time
When I finish cooking, I turn it off again (House-
been considered more natural and energy saving as
holder #49, Plesman, Amsterdam 09-01-2018).
compared to air-conditioning. All of this shows the
Householders appreciate the option to have the pos- latent need for simple traditional low-tech strategies
sibility to decide on the location of the control panel and contributing to personal thermal comfort standards and
have safety options. Also, they like to have the option to energy efficiency. Existing ‘minimalised’ retrofit does
switch off the mechanical extract ventilation system in not succeed in the utilisation of householders’ energy
case of emergency, for instance in case of governmental saving potential, especially in old communities with
notifications to close all windows and doors in cases of marginal housing. This could lead to increased energy
emergency. This shows that householders are not afraid demand after retrofitting.
to change the ‘hardware’ to achieve the indoor environ-
ment they want. The strong appreciation of having the
option for natural ventilation is also a valuable insight Positive affordances of adaptable windows
from the interviews with householders in Beijing and
Mianyang. According to residents, the retrofitting Positive affordances of retrofitted window frames in
should build on existing technology-user interactions Mianyang include householders’ existing experiences
to provide a cosy home, also for relaxation, and that to deal with building elements, like the adjustability of
greatly affects indoor thermal comfort. the windows, as competitors of more energy intensive
strategies like air-conditioning. This can be demonstrat-
ed in Mianyang where as a result of traditions and
Negative affordances of bad adjustable windows customs, windows are actively opened and closed every
day, in combination with the use of bamboo mats during
Negative affordances of old windows occur when there the night to stay cool. Sweating is here considered as a
is little attention to existing low-carbon thermal comfort natural, healthy part of life especially by elder house-
practices in Mianyang. The householders emphasise holders. In Wintertime, many householders wear a win-
that their old windows should be able to open complete- ter coat inside their apartment or use footbaths, (electric)
ly and slightly with side-hung and/or top-hung mecha- blankets and (electric) hot water bags. The limited open-
nisms to provide oxygen, for safety reasons and tradi- ing options of the damaged windows—since a major
tional ways of living. In addition to this, householders in earthquake hit this region in 2008—in combination with
low-income communities of Mianyang are afraid that the strongly growing availability of air-conditioning
the current poor designs of window frames, in combi- devices and other electrical devices, have slowly
nation with the thin glass layer can break if they use too changed the more ‘traditional’ thermal comfort prac-
much heating or cooling or can fall down spontaneous- tices. In relation to their new windows, residents appre-
ly. Finally, 25 out of 50 interviewed householders in ciate the opening options and options to provide natural
Mianyang clearly state that they want to have window light:
improvements (also to have better inside acoustic per-
formance and improved safety) but another group of In addition to using his electric blanket and inside
householders cannot easily imagine this. Or, as a house- coat wearing, I like the new top-hung window type
holder mentions: because it offers more fresh air. I also think the
double glass layer is better. Besides, I like the blueYou can also read
