Title: Barriers and challenges to smart buildings' concepts and technologies in Brazilian social housing projects

Authors: José Alcides Gobbo Junior; Maria Goretti Zago Nunes De Souza; Simone Cristina De Oliveira Gobbo

Addresses: Department of Production Engineering, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, 14-01, 17033-360 Bauru-SP, Brazil ' Department of Production Engineering, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, 14-01, 17033-360 Bauru-SP, Brazil ' EESC – School of Engineering of São Carlos, USP – University of São Paulo, Avenida Trabalhador São Carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos-SP, Brazil

Abstract: Smart building research is commonly explored in commercial buildings and less studied in the context of social housing. In this context, this article aims to diagnose the main barriers to the adoption of smart buildings' concepts and technologies in social housing projects in Brazil. The 'Expert Interviews' method was used with seven Brazilian experts in the fields of smart buildings and social housing, based on the assumption that experts have special knowledge, which are related to a special field. The main barriers categories identified in this study can be summarised in: 1) economic; 2) policy; 3) social; 4) technical. Based on these results, the study aims to contribute with possible solutions and guidelines to overcome such barriers, and discusses propositions that can be improved into hypothesis for later empirical testing.

Keywords: smart building; smart home; barrier; social housing; expert interview; smart homes; building technologies; smart grid; smart meters; sustainable buildings.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSRECE.2017.084362

International Journal of Sustainable Real Estate and Construction Economics, 2017 Vol.1 No.1, pp.31 - 50

Received: 28 Sep 2015
Accepted: 15 Apr 2016
Published online: 06 Jun 2017 *