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This paper is an empirical study of the relationship between the energy performance rating of residential homes in the Dublin market between 2009 and 2014 and their market prices, controlling for building type, size, age and location. Initial results suggest that energy efficiency has a significant, positive relationship with list price. A 50-point...
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... During the last few decades, a considerable number of studies on green or energyefficient buildings, have shown that the age of construction is highly related to energy use and has thus become a key indicator to define sustainable construction (Aksoezen et al., 2015). This has also led to building age being closely related to housing prices, in the real estate industry and in urban planning (Tam et al., 1999;Stanley et al., 2016;Law et al., 2019). In addition to impacts on energy analysis, the assessment of potential disasters such as earthquake and tsunami damages utilise the year of construction as a parameter in damage fragility curve models (Nagao et al., 2011;Del Gaudio et al., 2017). ...
A building’s age of construction is crucial for supporting many geospatial applications. Much current research focuses on estimating building age from facade images using deep learning. However, building an accurate deep learning model requires a considerable amount of labelled training data, and the trained models often have geographical constraints. Recently, large pre-trained vision language models (VLMs) such as GPT-4 Vision, which demonstrate significant generalisation capabilities, have emerged as potential training-free tools for dealing with specific vision tasks, but their applicability and reliability for building information remain unexplored. In this study, a zero-shot building age classifier for facade images is developed using prompts that include logical instructions. Taking London as a test case, we introduce a new dataset, FI-London, comprising facade images and building age epochs. Although the training-free classifier achieved a modest accuracy of 39.69%, the mean absolute error of 0.85 decades indicates that the model can predict building age epochs successfully albeit with a small bias. The ensuing discussion reveals that the classifier struggles to predict the age of very old buildings and is challenged by fine-grained predictions within 2 decades. Overall, the classifier utilising GPT-4 Vision is capable of predicting the rough age epoch of a building from a single facade image without any training. The code and dataset are available at https://zichaozeng.github.io/ba_classifier.
... Providing energy performance certificates (EPCs) to potential buyers and tenants when selling or renting residential units promotes transparency about the energy efficiency of the building and allows for easy access to reliable information [5,[12][13][14] This circumstance can encourage building owners to renovate their properties for improved energy efficiency, as buildings with higher EPC ratings typically have higher prices [15][16][17]. Furthermore, upgrading a building's energy efficiency can reduce energy consumption by up to 46% [18]. ...
This article presents causal recipes leading to high and low energy consumption efficiency performances using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The study found that several causal conditions are sufficient for high energy efficiency performance, including several fiscal and financial incentive policies, a highly educated population, many completed dwellings, and low GDP. The study also found that high inequality in completed dwellings and completed reconstructions , coupled with a low GDP and a low number of policies, lead to high energy consumption efficiency performance. In addition, the analysis showed slight differences between the yearly consistencies , suggesting that time effects are not a concern. On the other hand, a low education level, Gini coefficient, few completed dwellings and reconstructions, coupled with a low number of fiscal and financial policies, are the causal conditions leading to low energy consumption efficiency performance. The study's results suggest that policymakers and stakeholders should consider a combination of several causal conditions when implementing energy efficiency policies. The study also highlights the need for policies focusing on education, fiscal and financial incentives, completed dwellings, and reconstructions to achieve high energy efficiency performance.
... All these studies found that, on average, there were both rental and sales premiums for energy efficiency, but none were confident that these were sufficient to fully compensate property owners for the costs of energy efficiency renovation. Studies in other geographical contexts have also found a positive correlation between energy efficiency and sales or rental prices (e.g., [18][19][20][21][22]. Some, however, have found these effects to be negligible (e.g., [23,24]. ...
... Studies investigating the effects of the European Union's Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) on sales prices were offered by Lyons et al. (2013), though this was not peer-reviewed, and a later study was offered by Jensen et al. (2016). Studies were offered for Ireland (Stanley et al., 2016), Sweden (Cerin et al., 2014), England (Fuerst et al., 2015), the Netherlands (Chegut et al., 2016), Portugal (Ramos et al., 2015) (not peer-reviewed), Spain (Marmolejo Duarte and Chen, 2019), Romania (Taltavull et al., 2017), the Norwegian rental market (Khazal & Sønstebø, 2020), the French housing sales market (Civel, 2020) (not peer-reviewed), and the rental and sales markets in Berlin (Kholodilin et al., 2017) and Germany as a whole (Cajias & Piazolo, 2013). ...
A post-World War 2 building boom in western Germany (the original Bundesrepublik) produced a cohort of some 8 million apartments, built in 1946–1979, that are relatively homogeneous in design and materials. On average, these apartments are very energy-inefficient, consuming around 147 kWh of heating energy per square meter of floor area per year (kWh/m²/y). Retrofitting them to about 50 kWh/m²/y is necessary to meet Germany’s climate goals. Considerable skill and infrastructure have developed to attempt to achieve this, but it is expensive. This study investigates whether sales and rental markets disincentivise property owners from retrofitting these apartments to high energy efficiency standards. Data from sales and rental advertisements in 2019–2021 in Germany’s largest online housing advertisement portal, Immoscout24, were used to estimate market sales and rental premiums for energy efficiency in these apartments. For property owners who retrofit apartments then sell them, sales premiums for energy efficiency generally fail to compensate for the retrofit costs, unless the renovation is subsidised. Meanwhile, for purchasers, the reduction in energy costs due to higher energy efficiency does not compensate for the higher purchase price. Likewise, for landlords/landladies who retrofit apartments then rent them out, the rental premiums due to higher energy efficiency are nowhere near sufficient to compensate for the retrofit costs. Tenants, however, can often offset the rental premium through energy savings. In all four cases, there is regional variation. Based on a detailed investigation of this market for energy efficiency, this study suggests specific policy interventions to compensate for these market anomalies.
... From a perusal of the literature, some intriguing remarks arise regarding methods and models. While most of the studies employ linear or semi-logarithmic functional forms, a few others make use of a double-logarithmic function to estimate the price premium in terms of elasticity, and thus the percentage change in housing price for a percent change in energy consumption [53][54][55][56][57][58]. Also, there has been a radical shift in the models used to estimate the price premium over the years. ...
The energy issue has given rise to a prolific research field, which branches into several strands. One of these strands focuses on the role played by building energy features in shaping property prices. Indeed, market players are expected to show a higher willingness to pay for building units characterized by higher energy performance. The study of the so-called price premium for building energy efficiency has flourished in the last decade or so; plenty of evidence is now available concerning its occurrence, although its magnitude is still debated. The literature relies on the methodological frameworks of statistical modeling and multiple regression, primarily employing hedonic price models. Lately, spatial autoregressive models have also been adopted. Here, we propose to deal with estimation of the price premium by adopting an innovative perspective. In particular, we use a methodological framework in which regression models are complemented with a multi-criteria optimization approach. Using a spatial autoregressive model first, and with D as the reference energy rating band, we find the following price premiums: 55% for A4, 42% for A3 to A, 20% for B or C, −14% for F, and −29% for G. The multi-criteria optimization approach proves efficient in estimating the price premium. The estimates above are essentially confirmed: the results converge for all the energy rating bands except for G.
... Most Western countries are in the lead. According to BP, countries such as Japan, Germany, the USA, the UK and France are the leading countries investing in and using renewable energy [10]. Following the ratification of the Paris Agreement, member countries of the European Union have set ambitious targets of 40% carbon emissions reduction by 2030 and 60% by 2040 [11]. ...
This article examines the results of using renewable energy to reduce the energy consumption of buildings significantly. In particular, it looks at the results in a country such as Iran, which has a high potential for using solar energy. A comparison of the energy consumption of selected case samples based on the type of ownership of private, government and municipal buildings in 22 districts of Tehran has been analysed. Using data for energy consumption and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats analysis includes open and usable spaces for installing renewable-energy systems in 10% of public buildings, 4% of private facilities and 10% of municipal buildings. The results of this study show that the average energy consumption of buildings in Tehran is almost four times the global average. Iran has ~300 days of sunlight for installing solar panels in any place where solar energy is in direct contact with the Sun. Thus, it allows the building to use the energy absorbed by the discussions in all seasons. In 2050, this country could play a decisive role in producing renewable energy. In addition, solar energy may reduce fossil-fuel consumption and production costs.
... As the scope of this paper is the analysis of price premiums for housing on sale with an "EPC rating" in the EU, we have focused our literature review on studies that have examined properties with these same characteristics. Although there are several studies that find the price premium to be positive and significant (Bonifaci and Copiello, 2015;Cornago and Dressler, 2020;de Ayala et al., 2016;Fuerst et al., 2013;Fuerst et al., 2015;Hyland et al., 2013;Marmolejo Duarte, 2016;Mudgal et al., 2013), negative and/or non-significant premiums have been found in other studies Olaussen et al., 2017;Stanley et al., 2016;Taltavull de la Paz et al., 2019). Table 1 shows the data from some of these works with the objective of showing the methodologies used and the results obtained in other studies. ...
Location is, along with other aspects, one of the most important characteristics when determining the sale or rental price of a residential property. Energy rating is one of the characteristics involved in determining the rent or sale price of a house. Past research has shown the importance of this attribute in numerous studies. Moreover, these studies have found mixed results regarding the magnitude, direction, and statistical significance of energy rating price premiums. This research aims to determine whether housing location influences energy rating price premium. To achieve this objective, a least squares regression model and a multilevel model were estimated using a sample of 70,170 different residences that were offered for sale in the province of Alicante. The multilevel models show that, once the differences due to the location (comarca) had been eliminated, the energy rating label itself had an effect on the asking price and also that there was an effect for the relationship of the energy rating with the location characteristics (comarca). On the other hand, the variables that defined the energy ratings were not those responsible for the differences between the average asking prices of the residences in the comarcas.
... Most of the literature dealing with the topic makes use of regression analysis to find out whether it occurs and whether it is statistically significant or not. Early studies employ the traditional hedonic price model [58,68,69], seldom adopting a double-log functional form of the model [70][71][72][73], much more often using a semi-log functional form [74][75][76], also controlling for time and space fixed effects [77][78][79][80][81][82]. Recently, ever extensive use of spatial data analysis [83,84] has been seen, especially the spatial autoregressive model [33,[85][86][87][88][89] and the spatial error model [46,90]. ...
As the topic of energy efficiency is still in the spotlight after a few decades of studies delving into it, several dozens of recent publications deal with the potential occurrence of a price premium for green buildings, namely, those significantly outperforming the best conventional ones. Almost all of those investigations find that a price premium indeed occurs and is statistically significant - though its magnitude is still debated - using regression analysis. Especially, the traditional hedonic price model is widely used in early studies, while the spatial autoregressive and spatial error models are ever extensively employed in the newest ones. Here we suggest using a different approach by turning to multi-criteria analysis. In particular, we propose combining an application of the analytical hierarchy process and linear optimization to identify the role played by energy rating bands and the energy performance index in shaping property prices. As a result, we expect to estimate the likely magnitude of the price premium for building energy efficiency. We test the approach on the local housing market in Padua, North-eastern Italy. A strong influence is found to be exerted on property prices by the energy performance as expressed by the rating bands. After discussing the empirical findings and the limitations of the analytical procedure, we also outline further developments for our multi-criteria approach.
... In terms of analysing single EPCs, agents seeking to buy or rent buildings or flats gain insight into the energy performance that would otherwise be unknown to them and are able to make decisions based on this information [8]. This also results in higher prices for energy efficient properties, as shown by several studies [14,15,16,17,18] as well as a faster speed of sale [19]. These and further applications go beyond the initial intentions of the certification scheme and provide broad opportunities in different areas leading to an increasing impact of EPCs [6]. ...
Heating and cooling of residential buildings is accountable for a significant share of the EU’s final energy consumption. In order to determine the current condition of the building stock and to implement appropriate measures and requirements to improve energy efficiency of buildings, a detailed analysis of existing buildings is essential. This paper aims at describing characteristics of the building stock of Salzburg by analysing energy performance certificates. Therefore, the building stock is grouped into archetypes based on the construction period, building condition (not-retrofitted and retrofitted) and building type (single-family house and multi-family house) and then analysed regarding energy need for space heating, energy carrier, heat emission system, share and U-values of building elements and window to wall ratio. The analysis of the data demonstrates that the structure and naming conventions within the EPC-database pose hurdles for a correct investigation of the data. A comprehensible and distinct notation as well as versioning is inevitable for the sake of avoiding a loss of information and enabling international comparability. An analysis of energy carriers of the archetypes reveals, that a significant share of buildings still uses fossil fuels like oil and gas for energy supply, although electricity (heat pumps) and district heating are on the rise for buildings constructed in recent periods as well as for retrofitted buildings, with heat pumps being the most important energy carrier for new single-family houses amounting to a share of 65 % and district heating for new multi-family houses amounting to a share of 46 %. A detailed observation of the thermal performance of buildings and building elements reveals high potential and practicability not only for energy efficient new buildings, but also retrofitted buildings throughout all construction periods and for both, single-family houses and multi-family houses (e.g. median U-values for retrofitted ceilings/roofs range from 0.17 to 0.26 W/(m²K) compared to a median of 0.14 W/(m²K) for not-retrofitted ceilings/roofs from the most recent construction period). The conducted analysis provides detailed statistical information on the Salzburg building stock and hence a robust basis for further studies regarding the thermal performance of the building stock and future scenarios by means of urban building energy modelling approaches. Furthermore, based on this information, policies for energy efficient buildings can be improved and adapted according to current circumstances.
... In Ireland Hyland et al. (2013) found a larger price-gap between A/(F + G)-rated homes near to 20%; they were the first to point out that the price impact is significantly minor in the letting market. The study of Stanley et al. (2016) also found a similar premium in Dublin. In England, Fuerst et al. (2015) show clear evidence regarding the hedonic agenda of such a scheme finding a 12.00% price increase for A-to-G gap. ...
The European Union has relied upon information symmetry theory to foster decarbonization of existing buildings in cities under the hypothesis that efficient buildings receive a market premium. Hedonic analysis of housing prices across European cities suggests the existence of such a premium; while opinion-based research concludes that households pay scarce attention to energy performance when letting or buying a home. These approaches render inconclusive evidence regarding the role of energy-information symmetry as public policy in climate change mitigation through market prices. Since energy-efficiency attributes are contingent on the architectural quality of homes, poor control of the latter in hedonic models may bring biased conclusions regarding the former. The main contribution of this piece is to improve the control of these non-energy attributes using a visual inspection of listed apartments in Madrid and Barcelona. Results suggest that the energy-efficiency price premium completely disappears when other quality attributes are considered in full. This finding has large implications for energy and city policies.
