A comment on “Assessing the effectiveness of energy efficiency measures in the residential sector gas consumption through dynamic treatment effects: Evidence from England and Wales”

Abstract

In our previous publication “Assessing the effectiveness of energy efficiency measures in the residential sector gas consumption through dynamic treatment effects: Evidence from England and Wales”, we analyzed the impact of the implementation of energy efficiency (EE) measures, in particular loft insulation and cavity walls, on household gas consumption up to five years after installation. Upon review, we realized that our phrasing, specifically the term “energy savings disappear,” might have led to misunderstandings regarding our findings. In this commentary, we clarify that our results indicate reductions in the level of energy (gas) savings achieved, two to four years after the implementation of the energy efficiency measures. The adoption of EE measures is associated with significant reductions in household residential gas consumption one year after their implementation, as we expressed in Peñasco and Anadon (2023). However, the level of savings decreases four years after the retrofitting of cavity wall insulation measures and two years after the installation of loft insulation, generating increases in consumption with respect to the maximum level of savings achieved, i.e., rebounds in consumption. We find that, after five years, energy savings from loft installations are still positive, in the range of 4–5 % compared to the control group—a level of savings that represents a rebound of about 20–25 %, when compared to the maximum level of savings that occurs two years after installation. For cavity walls, after five years gas savings are in the range of 6–9 % compared to the control group, with rebounds of about 10–13 % compared to the maximum savings in year two. This clarification is crucial to prevent a misinterpretation of the results in future research and policy making.