Methodology of a statistical analysis of the housing building stock in Belgium

Belgium has to decrease the building sectors’ energy consumption by 80% in 2050. In order to reach this objective, all the studies carried out on this subject confirm the need to achieve a renovation rate of more than 3% per year. Some of those studies are trying to identify the best way to achieve this goal, but few studies are analysing and evaluating past policies effectiveness. Past studies identified some of criteria which are influencing this rate: including external factors such as energy prices and weather, and internal factors such as building energy regulation or inhabitants’ awareness. The studies showed the importance to take into account other changes such as inhabitant health, fuel poverty, the energy balance of the country and the building sector employment.
The main aim of this study is to understand what leads to an improvement in the housing stock.
This involves identifying several factors of influence (IFs) through the state of the art. In parallel, performance indicators (PIs) are selected, which will reflect the multifactorial aspects of the renovation problem. Finally, a statistical analysis reveals the influence of IFs on the evolution of PIs for the past 15 years.
The results first highlight the importance of some social and economic factors on the evolution of the housing stock characteristics. They also allow prioritizing the actions to be undertaken as part of an overall strategy for the housing renovation.
Thus, this study is aimed mainly at policy makers who will use the findings to adapt renovation strategies, and at researchers who will be able to use the results to help them in their analysis of the evolution of the built stock.