Alignment of house buyer and house builder opinions in the delivery of energy efficient homes in Scotland

Household carbon dioxide emissions (C02) account for approximately 27% of the overall C02 emitted within the United Kingdom (UK) who's Government, has implemented a series of strategies and targets aimed at achieving widespread, zero carbon (Zc) housing by 2016. Until now, it was unclear whether or not house buyers and builders agreed on the types and quality of homes which should be constructed. Consequently, a mixed method research approach focused on the views and opinions of house buyers and builders relating to new, private housing. The findings from 202 postal and face to face questionnaire responses were underpinned by a quantitative research methodology. Additionally, the findings were analysed using ANOVAs, MANOVA's, chi-square, fisher and tukey simultaneous tests which discovered that Government targets are too ambitious; that house builders overestimate their own abilities yet underestimate their house buyers; that house builders they do not fully engage in the energy efficient concept and do not fully understand their customers and that house buyers and builders often disagree on the level of customer satisfaction received when purchasing a new home. The results obtained from this research are important as they narrow the gap between the views and opinions of house buyers and builders. One of the most important findings is that, in an "ideal" world, house buyers would prefer to own a reduced carbon home but in reality, energy efficiency does not affect house buying decisions. The most substantial impact of the research is that such findings can be used to drive future Government policies whist promoting the need for significant further financial investment in the energy efficiency concept. Such investment is likely to be supported by house builders who seek reassurance in potential profit margins achievable when constructing energy efficient homes and house buyers who wish to purchase such homes but who struggle to obtain sufficient finance.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo