Improving the energy performance of residential buildings is one of the most effective strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy security in Europe. However, the adoption of energy-efficient renovation (EER) measures at the household level remains limited, even in contexts where subsidies and other incentives have been made widely available. This gap between climate ambition and household behavior underscores the need to better understand what influences renovation decisions across different social groups.
This study examines how contextual, social, and psychological factors shape household decisions to implement two key EER measures—thermal insulation and heating system replacement—in the Austrian region of Styria. Based on survey data from 1,787 homeowners, we employ Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and conduct a Permutation Multigroup Analysis (PERM-MGA) based on socioeconomic status (SES) and life stage to: (1) quantify the relative weight of drivers and barriers affecting EER behavior, and (2) explore how model parameter estimates vary across four household groups relevant to climate mitigation. Our theoretical framework integrates constructs from established behavioral theories—including the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003), and the Value-Belief-Norm theory (Stern, 2000)—while also accounting for contextual triggers such as building characteristics and household events (Wilson et al., 2015).
The results of our PLS-SEM show that perceived need is the most powerful predictor of EER behavior, particularly for thermal insulation (β = 0.539, p < 0.001). Access to reliable EER-related information also plays a critical role, with strong effects on both insulation (β = 0.346, p < 0.001) and heating system replacement (β = 0.397, p < 0.001). These channels are mediated by social proximity, highlighting the role of peer influence and interpersonal trust (Michelsen & Madlener, 2016). While attitudes toward EER and personal environmental norms have weaker direct effects, they reinforce motivation and alignment of homeowners’ behavior with long-term climate goals (Stern, 2000). Surprisingly, greater awareness of investment costs is associated with a higher likelihood of renovation (β = 0.178–0.210, p < 0.01), indicating that informed households are more likely to act—supporting the notion that information gaps and perceived procedural complexity may be more limiting than cost considerations alone (Ebrahimigharehbaghi et al., 2019).
Complementarily, the PERM-MGA based on socioeconomic status (SES) and life stage—following Gurtner & Moser (2024)—allowed us to capture behavioral heterogeneity in EER decisions. We find that Low-SES households are significantly more influenced by perceived need, being the effect on EER nearly twice as strong compared to high-SES groups. Conversely, access to information has a 1.5 times stronger effect among high-SES house
