Challenges of renovating the Gothenburg multi-family building stock - An analysis of comprehensive building-specific information, including energy performance, ownership and affordability
Doctoral thesis, 2016

In Sweden and many European countries, the building stock increased at a rapid pace during the period of 1950-1975. This aging building stock is in need of renovation which is a challenge and an opportunity in reaching the energy performance targets as well as decreasing societal inequities. The contribution of this thesis is to demonstrate how economic, social and resource usage challenges of renovating the building stock can be analyzed and described using comprehensive building-specific data. In this thesis, building ownership types, area socio-economic characteristics, building energy performance, and investments in renovation, are analyzed for the Gothenburg multi-family dwelling stock. Measured energy usage from the Swedish Energy Performance Certificate was used in the analysis. The data quality of the Energy Performance Certificate was assessed for the purpose of analyzing the building stock. The Energy Performance Certificates were matched with official building information from the Swedish Land Survey and area socio-economic information from Statistics Sweden. Using this dataset, rent increases due to renovations are estimated and compared. To broaden the analysis, a case study in a renovation project of multi-family dwellings in an economically disadvantaged area is also presented. In the case study renovation, the implemented energy usage reducing measure of volumetric billing of water was found to increase rents. The case study is used to exemplify how energy usage reducing renovation projects, with little consideration for social city development targets, can aggravate economic segregation. There is positive progress towards the 2020 targets of greenhouse gas emission reduction and improved energy efficiency in the Swedish housing sector; while there is little progress toward the Gothenburg city target to reduce segregation. The Swedish housing sector is rather part of the economic and geographic segregation process in Gothenburg. Renovation will be needed to reduce differences in living standards. The upcoming renovation need is a challenge, for mainly municipally owned companies, in reaching greenhouse gas and energy usage reduction without raising rent and increasing economic segregation.

Tenure

Energy retrofitting

Equity

Aging building stock

Multi-family dwellings

Social sustainability

Measured energy usage

Energy performance certificate

Göteborg

GIS

SB-H5 (old VH)
Opponent: Seppo Junnila

Author

Mikael Mangold

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

A review of Swedish residential building stock research

International Journal of Environmental Sustainability,;Vol. 11(2015)p. 1-17

Journal article

Socio-economic impact of renovation and energy retrofitting of the Gothenburg building stock

Energy and Buildings,;Vol. 123(2016)p. 41-49

Journal article

I Sverige och många europeiska länder byggdes mycket bostäder mellan 1950 och 1975. Detta åldrande bostadsbestånd behöver renoveras vilket är en utmaning och en möjlighet i att minska energianvändning och sociala ojämlikheter. Denna avhandlings bidrag är att visa hur ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga utmaningar inom renovering av flerbostadshus kan beskrivas med hjälp av omfattande byggnadsspecifik data.

In Sweden and many European countries, the building stock increased at a rapid pace during the period of 1950-1975. This aging building stock is in need of renovation which is a challenge and an opportunity in reaching the energy performance targets as well as decreasing societal inequities. The contribution of this thesis is to demonstrate how economic, social and resource usage challenges of renovating the building stock can be analyzed and described using comprehensive building-specific data.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Building Futures (2010-2018)

Energy

Subject Categories

Civil Engineering

ISBN

978-91-7597-444-6

Doktorsavhandlingar vid Chalmers tekniska högskola. Ny serie

SB-H5 (old VH)

Opponent: Seppo Junnila

More information

Created

10/7/2017