Factors which hinder and support the market introduction of innovative residential building concepts - an information offensive for planners and technology producers.

Status

finished

Summary

A high diffusion of innovative residential building concepts is seen as an important measure in the context of climate protection and CO2 reduction. Unfortunately, the market introduction of sustainable buildings is hindered by different factors, investigated in the first step of the research programme "house of the future".

To make use of the research results, the current study focuses on an active increase of the information and motivation level of the essential target groups by offensive information campaigns to give an impulse for a significant increase of innovative residential buildings diffusion. Methodically, first the results of available research projects and publications are summarised. Second, specific information is prepared for the target groups and third, information is transferred into the target groups offensively all over the territory of Austria. More detailed, target groups taken into consideration are builders, architects, master builders, sellers and producers of thermal insulation materials, mechanical ventilation systems, tiled stoves heating systems, and pellets-heating systems. In the course of dissemination of information, the individual objectives of the different target groups are taken into consideration to improve the motivation of key actors to absorb information and put it into action. Therefore an information-homepage including target group specific information platforms is designed, target groups are contacted via e-mail news and letters. To reach the target groups all over Austria, a database of 9400 specific enterprises and institutions is created. The dissemination actions are designed offensively, that means the major focus of actions is not the provision but the transportation of information into the target groups. The first information reached 8900 enterprises.

By analysing the logfiles of information platforms, the effectiveness of the campaign was evaluated after a period of approximately three months. In this context, some surprising results are observable. The platforms are differently used by the target groups. In the observation period 91% of the mechanical ventilation system producers visited the platform, but only 5% of the master builders did so. Generally the most important players, the builders, architects and master builders have low interest on the information. The others have moderate to very high interest. The favourites of information topics consumed by the target groups were information on energy relevant building subsidies and brochures for construction support. To summarise, high additional effort is necessary to reach the major target groups in the coherence with sustainable buildings and the introduction of specific energy policy measures seems to be necessary to introduce those building concepts in the foreseeable future.