Determinants of sustainable upgrade for energy efficiency - The case of existing buildings in Australia

© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. The impact of existing buildings on the environment is on the rise; thus to achieve environmental sustainability requires sustainable upgrade (SU) of existing built facilities. Over the years, SU has focused on technologies with little attention given to the nature and conditions of existing buildings. The purpose of this paper is to identify existing building characteristics that impact SU. A detailed literature review on the nature and characteristics of existing buildings, as well as energy and environmental performance was undertaken. A survey questionnaire with all the determinants of existing buildings was administered to sustainability and construction professionals in Australia. The results show that size of building, age of building, U-value of wall, U-value of ceiling, area of external wall, thickness of insulation materials, occupancy, size of window opening, life span of sustainable technologies, and the type of building impact sustainable upgrade of existing buildings for energy efficiency