Assessing users’ willingness-to-engagement towards Net Zero Energy communities in Italy

The human-centric energy transition is required to foster efficient buildings and communities by combining users’ engagement and technical solutions. In this view, the present study aims at evaluating for the first time the influence of users’ holistic experience on the feasibility of Net Zero Energy (NZE) communities in laggard countries for their application. The human-centric role is analyzed from a twofold perspective: the influence of user-building interaction on the expected final energy performance and the psychological factors affecting willingness towards the exploitation of NZE communities. To this aim, different scenarios for user-building interaction, obtained varying the family typology and occupants’ energy-related attitude, are assessed via validated dynamic simulation. In addition, an extended Technology Acceptance Model is examined through the submission of an extensive survey to investigate consumers’ intent to live and invest in buildings within NZE communities. Findings show the clear impact of users’ energy-awareness and knowledge of the potentialities of this solution on both buildings NZE performance achievement and consumers’ willingness towards NZE settlements implementation. Accordingly, this study brings to light how people engagement in energy communities is of fundamental relevance to reach the expected energy transition towards peer-to-peer renewable energy market, especially in laggard countries (e.g. Italy), where these concepts are currently being exploited.