Soft factors as added value in refurbishments

Sabine Brigger Senior Research Associate, Research Group Sustainable Construction

Abstract
When refurbishing a building, “hard factors” are usually considered, which usually bring material or quantifiable added value. The “soft factors”, which bring added value in terms of quality and comfort but are not directly quantifiable, are not taken into account.

This neglect can mean that the comprehensive added value of refurbishments for (private) owners and tenants is not fully captured and therefore the benefits of refurbishments are underestimated.

In the exemplary excerpt from the attached list, comfort groups - visual, thermal, acoustic comfort as well as quality of use and indoor air quality - are linked to element groups and associated quality terms are added. This is intended to make the soft factors in refurbishments visible.

The attached excerpt includes the element groups (basis eBKP-H) “D Building technology” and “E External wall cladding of buildings”.

Authors: Brigger, Sabine; King, Marvin; HSLU.