Understanding Homeowners' Renovation Decisions: Findings of the VERD Project, 2012-2013

VERD is a research project at the University of East Anglia investigating homeowners' decisions to renovate, with a particular emphasis on energy efficiency. VERD stands for Value propositions for Energy efficient Renovation Decisions. The project is a collaboration between researchers from the Norwich Business School and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and is funded by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).<br> <br> This study focuses on why homeowners renovate and why they decide to improve their home energy efficiency. The study is based on data collected from homeowners in two ways: a national survey and (simultaneously) stated preferences for renovation alternatives.<br> <br> The survey took place in September 2012 and drew from a representative sample of 1,028 UK homeowners, who were asked whether or not they were considering renovations. About half said they were not. The other half, who were, were asked how far along they were in their decision process. About 19 per cent were thinking about renovations in general terms, 16 per cent were concretely planning renovations, and the remaining 15 per cent were in the middle of or finalising renovations.<br> <br> The study was repeated a year later using two separate sub-samples. One sub-sample included the same respondents from the previous year and the other was a new independent sub-sample. <br> <br> The data collected allowed the VERD team to answer the following questions:<ul><li>Why do homeowners first start thinking about renovations?</li><li>How do homeowners decide to renovate? And why do they include energy-efficiency measures? </li><li>What value propositions are attractive to renovating homeowners? And what role might the Green Deal play? </li></ul>Further information is available from the <a class="external" href="http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/programmes/energy-demand/value-propositions-for-energy-efficient-renovation-decisions-verd-.html" title="UKERC">UKERC</a> VERD project webpage and the <a class="external" href="http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/renovation-decisions" title="Tyndall Centre">Tyndall Centre</a> VERD project webpage.<br> <br>