Barriers to the adoption of energy-efficient technologies in the building sector: A survey of Brazil

International audienceThe building sector is responsible for 51% of electricity consumed in Brazil, and about 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions. These numbers continue to grow consistently, despite significant efforts done by the government to promote the adoption of building energy efficiency (BEE) technologies, which have not been widely adopted due to barriers. A systematic literature review revealed 27 barriers, classified into six categories, as the responsible for hindering the adoption of energy-efficient technologies. This article aimed to verify whether such barriers make sense for the Brazilian reality. In order to accomplish such a goal, a survey among Brazilian specialized professionals was carried out. The results were analysed by two multivariate techniques, cluster and factor analysis, validating these barriers as well as the proposed taxonomy for Brazil. The results also showed that the two most important categories of barriers are the Governmental/Political/Regulatory and Financial/Economic, showing that the Brazilian society has high expectations about the government will be more active in this matter. In addition, the respondents gave insights into important points concerning with technology, education, etc. that should be verified in a timely manner. These findings can assist government agencies, researchers, and experts to develop guidelines/strategies to overcome such barriers