Virtual Show houses: Energy Effectiveness and Environmental Impact

During the last few years, VR has emerged as a new technology promising to offer better user experience, while solving many of the traditional problems faced by housing providers. Show houses provide a physical artefact for customers to physically place themselves within it and experience a home before making a decision on house purchase. Development on virtual reality has given an opportunity to provide related experience without physically building a show house. This research involves a user experience of Virtual Reality show house and its influence on energy effectiveness. In addition to qualitative primary interviews in which the views and experiences of selected respondents were collected and identified, a thematic analysis was used to analyse responses from the interviews, which enabled the researcher to gain clear insights and understanding into how people feel and see virtual show houses. This study has been presented as a solution for solving the traditional challenges of cost, travel and management of housing tour, often faced by small and medium scale housing providers. Besides, this could include energy systematic design component to be considered for all types of environmental sections that change during various phases of the year. Through the insights gained from data in the research, it was identified that while VR is a viable option, much work needs to be done to ensure that it can ensure user satisfaction through better participation and engagement.