Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2025
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering
Department
Civil Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. June Young Park
Abstract
Residential building retrofits remain significantly under-adopted despite substantial technological advances, economic incentives, and policy efforts, creating a critical gap between technical potential and actual implementation in achieving climate goals. Assessment of citizen involvement in building retrofit processes plays a critical role in formulating effective home retrofit program designs to ensure maximum adoption rates and avoid energy waste. Although, existing retrofit programs and decision-making models recognize the importance of citizen involvement, the extent of citizen capabilities and the effects of citizen-centered approaches on retrofit adoption and building performance has not been comprehensively examined. The adoption and success of retrofit programs depends on both the technical properties and social dynamics of the retrofit process. The effectiveness of retrofit programs is sensitive to citizen knowledge, motivation, and participation patterns. So, it is necessary to investigate the effects of citizen involvement on retrofit adoption decision-making and program effectiveness.
This research is divided into four sections to investigate citizen involvement in residential building retrofits across multiple interconnected roles. In the first section, this research develops methodological framework for assessing building thermal resilience during extreme weather events from the occupant perspective. The approach uses unsupervised machine learning to identify patterns in building thermal performance during combined extreme weather conditions and electrical power outages. Results indicate that clustering approaches can effectively identify buildings and occupants most vulnerable to climate impacts, providing technical foundation for targeting retrofit interventions where citizens experience the greatest performance challenges. The next section explores how citizens currently engage with retrofit processes beyond traditional program models through comprehensive analysis of existing home retrofit programs and social media discussions about home improvements. The concept of Citizen Building Scientist was introduced to describe individuals who actively participate in building assessment, retrofit implementation, and knowledge sharing through informal networks. The analysis revealed significant gaps between formal program designs and actual citizen engagement patterns, with citizens demonstrating substantial capabilities that current programs fail to recognize or support.
The third section provides systematic synthesis of computational approaches to modeling homeowner retrofit decision-making, examining how different modeling paradigms represent citizen decision logic, behavioral assumptions, and social influences. Results showed that most models face challenge in accurately predicting actual adoption rates, suggesting fundamental limitations in current approaches to representing citizen decision-making complexity. The fourth section demonstrates practical approaches for supporting citizen education about retrofit processes through development and evaluation of gamified learning environments. Through analyzing participant gameplay and pre- and post-game survey it was found that educational innovations significantly improve citizen understanding of retrofit decision trade-offs and enhance confidence in applying building science knowledge.
Collectively, these studies reveal that citizens possess significant knowledge, motivation, and capability for building retrofits, but current retrofit programs fail to recognize or support these capabilities. The research demonstrates that effective retrofit adoption requires understanding and supporting citizens across all their roles rather than addressing each role in isolation. The findings point toward collaborative approaches that recognize citizens as knowledgeable partners in building assessment, improvement planning, and implementation processes, rather than treating them as passive service recipients.
This integrated approach contributes to both theoretical understanding of citizen-retrofit relationships and practical applications for improving retrofit adoption through more citizen-centered approaches to building decarbonization efforts. The research provides methodological tools, conceptual frameworks, and practical recommendations for policy makers, industry professionals, and educational institutions seeking to leverage citizen engagement for more effective and equitable retrofit adoption at the scale and speed required for climate goals.
Keywords
Residential building retrofits, Home energy efficiency programs, Energy education Citizen science, Citizen involvement, DIY retrofit, Building resilence, Building decarbonization, retrofit decision making, gamification
Disciplines
Civil Engineering
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Yaduvanshi, Nikhil Singh, "Citizen-Centric Building Energy Retrofits: Understanding and Supporting Citizens as Occupants, Participants, Decision-Makers, and Learners in Home Energy Retrofits" (2025). Civil Engineering Dissertations. 517.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/civilengineering_dissertations/517