Are energy decisions about energy? A study of homeowners’ decision-making processes in the transition to low-carbon housing in the Netherlands

Despite the urgency of climate change, the housing market remains reluctant to innovate towards a low-carbon housing stock. The current slow adoption rate of low-carbon measures in the housing stock can be attributed partly to the fact that energy policies generally disregard the diversity of concerns and motivations of homeowners and often rely on a generic approach instead. Therefore, this thesis aims to identify and evaluate the varying factors that influence the multistage decision-making processes of homeowners regarding residential low-carbon measures. The thesis focuses on the Netherlands, which has a long history of policy efforts initiated since the late 1970s to stimulate residential low-carbon measures, but the diffusion of these measures has lagged. Additionally, this thesis examines owner-occupied and social housing, as they account for the majority of the Dutch housing stock. The aim of this research is to deepen the understanding of this topic to gain a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of homeowners’ decision-making processes and how they can be enhanced. The socio-technical analysis highlights the contextual circumstances of people; their needs, concerns, and ways of thinking and evaluation; differences therein; justice aspects; the role of intermediation; and influences from others (professionals and non-professionals). The thesis consists of four empirical studies and a mixed-methods approach was used, which combined quantitative and qualitative data to collect and analyze the data.