The Use of Energy Labels in Two European Countries
(2008) Home Energy — Vol. 25, n° 2, p. 8-9 (2008)
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- Abstract
- Our research did not lead us to conclude that energy labels on buildings are a bad idea. Labels should be seen as one piece of information among others that increase the homeowners’ knowledge about their house, and about its possible renovation. We do recommend that labeling program administrators tone down the focus on payback time and focus instead on the cost of investment and on possible energy savings, to let people judge for themselves what renovations are worth undertaking. The Belgian experience suggests that a labeling system where the expert comes to the house after the new owners have bought it may be preferable to the Danish labeling system, where the future owner gets the information before buying. Buying a house is different from buying appliances, and the Danish interviews show that people do not use the labels to decide which house to buy. Rather, they use the labels to decide what to do with the house once they have bought it.
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Citations
Gram-Hanssen, K., & Bartiaux, F. (2008). The Use of Energy Labels in Two European Countries. Home Energy, 25(2), 8-9. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/177418 (Original work published 2008)