Supporting residents to transition practices in zero energy homes

Abstract

Residential housing has to become more sustainable to meet global energy goals (Silvester et al., 2017), yet the challenge is to integrate the refurbishments that reduce energy with the way people live. The context of this project is the 2ndSKIN project, which refurbishes houses to become zero energy. Zero energy houses are more airtight as a result of improved insulation, therefore ventilation becomes increasingly important. Yet, residents struggle to integrate the new balanced ventilation system into their practices. Residents use the system different from how it is intended. This does not only impact energy goals (Behar & Chiu, 2013) but can also result in decreased comfort and unhealthy situations. Hence, the aim of the project is to support residents to transition their practices in zero energy homes. The project first described the practice of maintaining indoor air quality to identify points that hinder a transition of the practice. Insights show that the lack of feedback of the ventilation system makes residents insecure and makes it hard to understand the system. Besides, associations that mismatch the new material make residents reluctant to use the balanced ventilation systems. In the concept phase, I generated ideas to improve feedback and foster desirable associations with the ventilation system. Through the iterations, I learned feedback on functioning and on the systems’ activity helps residents. It helps them to trust the system is working, understand what the system is doing and develop appreciation for it. The final concept is the feedback fan. This add-on to ventilation valves spins on the supplied air. In a natural way, it provides residents with feedback. An evaluation proved that with increased feedback, residents are able to incorporate the system in their daily routines and even align their own actions to the systems’ activity. Future steps are to make a solid prototype and develop the service around it. Besides, future design projects can continue on other identified points that hinder the transition of practices. Moreover, insights about feedback of the ventilation system and the practice of maintaining indoor air quality will be valuable, when designing future ventilation systems. In conclusion, both the final design and the insights of the project can contribute to a transition of residents’ practices zero energy homes.