Prioritisation of old apartment buildings for energy-efficient refurbishment based on the effects of building features on energy consumption in South Korea

All rights reserved. Since the 1970s the construction of high-rise apartments has been prolific across Asia. More recently, due to changes in legislation, there has been a growing trend towards refurbishment for those old apartments, however this has primarily focused on the economic benefits and rarely taken energy saving and the reduction of carbon emissions into account. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate what features in old apartment buildings need to be taken into account in refurbishment strategies. The method is threefold: evaluating energy consumption in old apartment buildings; identifying effective building features on energy consumption; and ranking the effects of building features on energy consumption. The results show that old apartment buildings have consumed excessive energy for space heating and cooling. Maximum 43.65 kWh/m2/year in space heating and 5.70 kWh/m2/year in cooling were reduced as a result of the transformation of eight building features, accounting for 70.9% of total variance in factor analysis. Three most influential features, which should be used to priorities for refurbishment schemes, have been identified by multiple regression analysis: the conditions of building envelopes, heating methods and the sizes of building units. Therefore, the priority should be given to these three features

HOUSING POLICY FOR THE ELDERLY: A POLICY TO BUILD BARRIER-FREE RENTAL HOUSING

There is a strong need for barrier-free rental housing because of the rapidly aging population in Japan, where the share of barrier-free rental housing is only 18.24% of total rental housing. We propose a policy to solve the problems associated with supplying barrier-free rental housing. Our scheme involves a method of funding rental housing with a securities investor, as well as implementing property management and introducing rent subsidies. The plan entails funds being collected to construct barrier-free rental housing. The housing will generate positive rental profits, which will, in turn, lead to the increase in the supply of barrier-free rental housing. According to our plan, the low-income elderly will also have access to barrier-free rental housing. Copyright 2009 The Author. Journal compilation 2009 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd