Overcoming barriers for building energy efficiency retrofits: insights from hotel retrofits in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Purpose – Despite the pressures around the world to retrofit existing buildings to have higher energy performance, still the level of adoption and implementation of Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits (BEER) appear comparatively low. The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers that affect the successful implementation of BEER in actual project level executions and identify strategies to overcome such barriers. Design/methodology/approach – In total, two case studies were conducted in selected hotel buildings to explore the barriers that hamper the adoption and implementation of BEER in the local context and in turn identify the strategies to overcome them. Altogether 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents involved in different phases of these BEER projects. The data were analysed using code-based content analysis. Findings – Altogether 38 barriers were identified under the three main project phases. Furthermore, the study revealed 77 strategies to overcome the identified barriers, classified as individual, organisational and national level strategies. Originality/value – This paper has made a unique contribution to the field by identifying the barriers in each phase of BEER projects and proposing strategies to be taken at different levels to overcome them. The findings of this study will provide a basis for setting up country-wide and organisation-wide strategies for successfully improving the energy efficiency of existing hotel buildings.