'Energy-efficient Housing in Australia: Incentives and Barriers to Large-scale Adoption'

The combustion of fossil fuels for transportation, heating, and cooling residential and commercial buildings has caused a rise in average global temperatures. The development of energy-efficient housing in Australia lags three decades behind European construction standards. Transitioning to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 will depend heavily on the large-scale adoption of energy-efficient housing, as exemplified by the Passive House concept. Passive housing is a highly energy-efficient house design concept originating in Germany. Whereas significant attention has been placed on the supply side of Passive Houses, limited knowledge exists on the demand-based factors influencing Passive House adoption. Using Australia as the case study for this research, this study explores underlying factors influencing consumer decisions in adopting Passive House. Drawing from the Innovation Diffusion Theory, Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, Technology Acceptance Model, and Quintuple Helix Model, the study will offer a conceptual model that will be further tested across multiple case regions in Australia.
The study aims to adopt an exploratory sequential mixed method, which begins with thirty-eight initial qualitative interviews followed by 535 survey questionnaires. Aside its theoretical contribution to the adopted theories, the study findings hope to inform practice and policy decisions regarding large-scale adoption of Passive Houses in Australia.