A conceptual model analysing building-in-use to act on energy performance gap

The energy performance of residential buildings depends on a complex socio-technical system. There is often a gap between the planned (pre-occupancy) and the actual (post-occupancy) energy performance, which is not fully explained in the literature. What is the role of the “occupants” on energy performance gap? How to analyze the “social performance” of the system? The aim of this research is to make the link between engineering, economic and marketing theories to analyze this gap in residential low consumption “buildings-in-use” and to provide managerial implication to act upon it. Adding this understanding of the “social performance” in an integrated conceptual model is important in order to achieve the ambitious objectives of low consumption buildings. This theory building article is based on the existing literature and conceptual analysis. The new conceptual model takes into account the co-creation of value when the building is in use. We empirically illustrate the use of the theory with an innovative process combining Community Based Social Marketing and Living Lab methods. We will then test the impact on performance when co-creating an energy efficiency plan. We separate three types of energy performance gaps: (1) technical performance gap (2) economic performance gap (3) social performance gap. As practical implications, new indicators need to be developed to measure the “social performance gap” of buildings and the impact of value co-creation. The constructor should integrate all the stakeholders in co-designing new sustainable neighborhoods (feedforward) and in optimizing operation (feedback). As social implications, the inhabitants should be considered as co-creators of value to decrease the gap. The paper corresponds to the building of a new theory supported by empirical research. The proposed conceptual model has the advantage to take into account and integrate multi-stakeholders’ perspective and to combine engineering, economic and marketing theories in one model