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Solving the difficult problem of hard to decarbonize homes

Nature Energy volume 7, pages 675–677 (2022)Cite this article

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Hard to decarbonize homes represent a complex problem that has historically been neglected in favour of the lower hanging fruit of easier to treat properties. To enable an equitable net zero transition, we must understand these homes in a holistic manner take into account the impacts of different routes to decarbonization on occupants.

The residential sector is the fourth-largest source of carbon emissions in the world. Globally, we estimate that on average one in four of our homes are hard-to-decarbonize (HtD) (based on data from refs. 1,2,3,4,5). Moreover, we estimate HtD homes to be responsible for over 25% of all direct residential sector emissions (based on ref. 1). These homes have one or more physical, locational, and occupant-related characteristics that impact the feasibility of deploying available cost-effective decarbonization solutions within them. These solutions include measures that improve energy efficiency and motivate better use of energy as well as low-carbon heating (and cooling) technology options.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, University College London, London, UK

    Rokia Raslan

  2. The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    Aimee Ambrose

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  1. Rokia Raslan
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Correspondence to Rokia Raslan.

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Raslan, R., Ambrose, A. Solving the difficult problem of hard to decarbonize homes. Nat Energy 7, 675–677 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01075-w

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