area of Stenloese South in the Municipality of Egedal. Through in-depth interviews, we have gained insight
into the daily life of these occupants and obtained a greater understanding about the kinds of impacts that
the new systems and the energy requirements have had. In the following, we point out some of the main
conclusions in relation to our three research questions.
What impact does the new systems have on the daily life of the occupants?
The new systems mainly concern a well-insulated and airtight building envelope, a heating system based on
heat pumps and a ventilation system with recovery. These systems provide the same modern commodities
compared to standard houses that are low energy in cases, where the systems work. The occupants are
especially positive about avoiding draft and the good indoor climate provided by the continuous air-
exchange. Some of the occupants are a little bit annoyed by the fact that their floor heating system do very
seldom provide hot tiles. Otherwise, the occupants use the house in a very traditional way. The main
difference for them relates to the daily operation and maintenance of the new systems. This implies that
the implemented systems sustain (and to some extent even increases) current living standards.
What challenges have the technological innovations resulted in?
Generally, the occupants do not experience problems with the new systems. However, there are some
examples of challenges in relation to the technological innovations. One major challenge is that some of the
configurations of the heating system does not work properly. This leads to lack of heating in the cold winter
period or to extremely high-energy bills because an additional heat element sets in. This malfunctioning has
challenged a number of dwellings, especially in the first phases, and these are in the process of getting the
building company to remedy the problem. Many of the occupants experience challenges with regards to
overheating, because of too much solar irradiation in the tight buildings. The occupants are attempting to
remedy this challenge in different ways themselves. Many of the occupants do also experience great
problems in relation to the daily operation and maintenance of the new systems, where the building
companies, suppliers and installation contractors seem to have failed to support the users. The new
systems have had a lot of teething problems in the beginning and many of the occupants have given up on
operating the systems themselves. Several occupants are disappointed about the economic savings that
they have obtained, but there are also several occupants that express satisfaction. Finally, there have been
some challenges with the integration of smart meters in the dwellings, where the electronic housekeeper
has resulted in a lot of frustrations. The possibilities of the smart metering system are only used/exploited
in a very small part of the dwellings.
What can we learn from the user experiences in this process in terms of broader social innovations?
The user experiences indicate that the occupants are positively inclined about the energy requirements.
Although there have been malfunctions and teething problems, most of the occupants are generally happy
about their new dwelling and certain that it will work. The interviews do, however, also indicate that there
has been a greater degree of innovation compared to the expectations of the municipality. This innovation
does not seem to have been constructively handled by the building companies, because these have merely
adjusted their standard solutions. This indicate that the innovation process in relation to the building design
could have been improved. Most emphasis has also been put on the configuration of the technical systems,
whereas less emphasis has been put on the functionality seen in relation to the users. These represent
issues that would be important to address, if such urban development processes should result in more
applicable solutions. Finally, we also critically addressed the balance between keeping the new systems
acceptable in relation to social expectations and promoting changes in these expectations as part of the
greater scheme of sustainable transitions. This represents a difficult balance, which should be further
discussed in future projects.