House owners’ experience and satisfaction with Danish low-energy houses

The purpose of this study was to identify experience and satisfaction with new Danish detached low-energy single-family houses. A questionnaire survey was carried out in the autumn of 2013 among owners of newly built energy class 2015 houses. It included i.a. questions on their overall satisfaction, and more specifically their satisfaction with the indoor climate (temperature, draught, air quality, noise and daylight), and their experience with technical installations and heat consumption. The questionnaire was answered by 370 of 869 house owners corresponding to a response rate of 43%. The survey showed an overall satisfaction with the new low-energy houses, as 93% of the house owners would recommend living in such houses to others. The high rate of satisfaction may, among other things, be due to the fact that more than 90% of the house owners perceived the indoor environment as satisfactory both in summer and winter. The energy consumption was found to be as low as expected by 59%, while only 7% answered that it was higher than expected. Compared with previous similar studies, problems with technical installations and design have decreased. However, there is a need for continued focus on the commissioning of new, and not necessarily thoroughly tested, high-performance installations and new designs to achieve both low energy consumption and satisfied house owners