Retrofit with residents: proposed locally responsive participatory method for technical thermal retrofitting of public housing in the United Arab Emirates

Purpose This research aims to explore the potential for this proposed locally responsive and participatory thermal retrofitting method for the existing public housing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that combines the technical development of thermal retrofitting alternatives and genuine engagement of Emirati residents in the process of the selection of the appropriate technical retrofitting system for their houses through an advanced e-participatory process. Design/methodology/approach The existing public housing stock in the UAE needs to be thermally retrofitted to achieve the targeted operational energy efficiency benchmarks. Due to the absence of a comprehensive, locally responsive and participatory thermal retrofitting strategy for this sector, the research developed and explored a five-phase thermal retrofitting method that starts with developing alternative systems for thermal retrofitting applied to a typical Emirati single-family public housing model as a representative case study. These alternatives are developed into building information modeling (BIM) models through a BIM platform that works as a unified platform for developing digital twin models for these alternatives in the second phase and technically assessing their reduced energy consumption using insight simulation in the third phase. In the fourth phase, the capital and operational energy costs of these alternative retrofitting systems are estimated, relying on the data fetched from the BIM models developed in the BIM platform. Finally, the performance of these alternatives is explained to a selected sample of Emirati residents through an advanced “e-participation” process utilizing an initiated immersive metaverse to help them define the most preferred retrofitting system for them based on the simply explained technical criteria for them and their social perception. Findings The findings emphasized the appropriateness of the proposed five-phase thermal retrofitting method and the success of engaging residents in its decision-making process through the utilization of the advanced “e-participation” process. Ultimately, this proposed method led to the identification of an agreed-upon retrofitting system that could significantly reduce energy consumption in the existing public housing by about 30%. Originality/value The research bridges theoretical and practical gaps of both the absence of a comprehensive technical retrofitting process and the drawbacks of conventional participatory techniques. This has been attained through introducing an innovative thermal retrofitting method for the large stock of Emirati public housing that integrates the technical definition of locally responsive thermal retrofitting systems with the advanced “e-participatory” process that helped the residents comprehend, compare and select among technical thermal retrofitting alternative systems for their houses.