Retrofitting strata property - a tool supporting long-term retrofit strategy

Abstract

Strata property - ownership of apartments or townhouses consisting of private and commonly owned building components and areas - was established in Switzerland in 1965 and since has become very popular. But, well-needed retrofit work of these buildings is often postponed and long-term retrofit strategies are rarely considered. However, the low retrofit rate must increase to meet the global energy goals. Interviews and workshops with relevant actors showed that missing financial means are not the key issues for the low retrofit rate. Major challenges arise from a broad set of issues, such as difficult processes, unclear responsibility, insufficient communication, missing building information or underestimation of the commonly owned building components. “Luzerner Toolbox” provides eight folders that address the key clusters of challenges. Central to this toolbox are Excel-based tools, which transform accurate technical and financial information into a visual format. An ample diagram illustrates the remaining lifetime of the building parts and a graph relates upcoming retrofit costs and the annual payments into the contingency reserve fund with a forecast of the contingency reserve fund. As such, these tools assists in scheduling appropriate retrofit measures and establishing a balanced financial planning. But, various actors have reported that the retrofit timetable is too complex to be used in management firms. Feasibility studies and further research of their specific needs and work processes are needed to refine the tool accordingly. In a further study, interviews with management firms and architects are conducted to determine the key factors of a useful tool.

A conceptual model identifying apartment owners' attitude formation towards solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption

“…A Swedish study, Sommerfeldt et al (2016), states the payback time for apartment-based solar installations as ranging between 10 and 25 years. Unless reliable and immediately relevant information is available, it can be difficult to clearly ascertain the project's long-term benefits, rendering a project difficult to pursue mindfully (Yamaguchi et al, 2013) and impossible for others to support (Ehrbar et al, 2019). Conversely, convenient access to information can increase an individual's likelihood of solar PV adoption, whether such information is attainable to them through workshops and public programmes (Hampton and Eckermann, 2013), the advice of trusted experts (Paladino and Pandit, 2012), personal observations of other projects (Kapoor and Dwivedi, 2020) or simply through the received wisdom of their peers (Palm, 2018).…”

“…The ASA model includes "actual and perceived knowledge" as a requisite factor. Apartment owners seeking solar power require the skills to advocate effectively for its adoption, due to their need to gain collective support (Arkcoll et al, 2013;Ehrbar et al, 2019). To begin with, they must perceive their knowledge to be sufficiently reliable and relevant to share with others (Kastner and Stern, 2015).…”