Energy Efficiency最新文献

This study analyses household heterogeneity in the valuation of lifetime heating energy costs. The valuation is estimated from the willingness to pay higher upfront costs at the moment of installing a residential heating system to obtain savings in heating costs over its lifetime. We combine extensive administrative register data on new houses built in Finland during 2010-2011 with local electricity prices and engineering estimates of heat consumption and estimate a mixed logit model of heating system choice. The data allow defining the valuation as a function of several observable household characteristics. On average, households are willing to pay €7 more in upfront costs to obtain annual savings of €1 in heating costs over the lifetime of the heating system. However, we find considerable heterogeneity across households and a valuation ranging from €2 to €15 in higher upfront costs. The relatively low valuation indicates policy measures could be needed to accelerate energy efficiency investments in the detached housing stock. Furthermore, the notable heterogeneity suggests the cost-effectiveness of policy measures can be improved by targeting the households with lowest valuations.

In the United States, buildings consume 40% of primary energy, a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This issue is further compounded by the disproportionate burden placed on low-income households, spending three times more (8.6%) of their income on energy compared to non-low-income households. To meet the global net-zero emissions target by 2050, an average annual energy efficiency improvement of 4% is crucial. However, only 1% of U.S. buildings are improved annually. Recognizing the critical role of technology, agencies have implemented energy efficiency programs like the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), specifically targeting low-income households. These programs rely on energy auditors who utilize software tools to assess energy performance. However, currently, there is no comprehensive framework for selecting the most suitable software for low-income housing. This paper proposes a novel framework comprising over 50 factors organized under 14 critical criteria to assess energy audit software specifically for low-income households. This framework enables both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, empowering stakeholders to make informed decisions in energy efficiency programs. The framework's originality lies in its tailored focus on the unique needs of low-income housing, offering a valuable tool for software developers and program administrators alike. This framework’s significance is in its ability to provide a systematic approach to assessing software options, ultimately contributing to improved energy efficiency and reduced energy costs for low-income households. Moreover, the framework considers important aspects of low-income living which are often ignored such as the non-energy impact on health, safety and comfort.

This study investigates the subject of energy conservation and green consumerism, with an emphasis on energy-efficient appliances as an important tool for reducing energy consumption. While such appliances are generally recognized in the literature as energy-saving solutions, this study provides a new perspective by addressing the context of a growing country like India, which has the issue of balancing fast economic growth with environmental sustainability. The study uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate consumers' intentions to use energy-efficient appliances. Data were collected via online survey from 300 Indian consumers. The results show that positive consumers intention to purchase energy-efficient appliances are perceived ease of use, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. However, no significant relationship was found between perceived usefulness and consumer intention to adopt such appliances. The study ends with actionable recommendations for marketers, policymakers, and sustainability advocates to create pertinent educational and communication initiatives. For policymakers in designing effective awareness campaigns and incentives, and for manufacturers to adapt their products to meet the needs of consumers in developing countries. Additionally, it underscores the importance of educating consumers about the environmental benefits of energy-efficient appliances.

During the energy crisis, low- and lower-middle-income households were hit hardest by the surges in energy prices, since they needed to allocate a considerably larger share of their income towards heating fuels and electricity than higher-income households. This short communication summarises the results of a structured analysis of the support measures to reduce the negative impacts of the energy crisis on households implemented in Austria along two criteria derived from the literature: social effectiveness, i.e. the degree to which they are targeted to vulnerable households, and energy efficiency incentives. The support measures implemented in Austria have generally lacked (social) targeting. Broad compensation measures tend to impede price signals that incentivise energy savings and entail higher fiscal costs. In the medium and long run, these measures, like tax reductions, price caps or untargeted lump-sum payments, should therefore be replaced by measures focussing on income support for the most vulnerable households. This would enable a more effective use of resources, improve social effectiveness, and contribute to increasing energy efficiency.

To test the effect and path of the current rooftop photovoltaic (PV) policy in China, this study collected 659 samples from Urumqi through a questionnaire survey. The ABC model was combined with the TAM model to test the effects of four policies: guiding policy, positive incentive, negative incentive, and supportive policy. It is found that supportive policies may stimulate the willingness of residents to install residential PV. These policies are followed by negative incentives, positive incentives, and guiding policies, among which the most critical variable is perceived usefulness (PU). In Urumqi and other places where roof photovoltaic is not popular, the above conclusions can be applied to the promotion policy of roof photovoltaic. Specifically, carrying out rooftop PV promotion in such areas, determining the technical standards and after-sales guarantee of rooftop PV equipment through supportive policies, and cooperating with negative incentive policies such as carbon tax, will achieve a higher promotion effect than the use of positive incentive policies such as subsidies and publicity demonstration policies.

Although the energy service company (ESCO) in Taiwan can apply traditional insurance to its energy-service performance contract (ESPC) business, can it apply parametric insurance (PI)? This is an issue worth studying. In the ESPC, there is a “guaranteed” energy-saving performance value by the ESCO. Since this energy-saving performance value is a “parameter” agreed upon by both the energy user and the ESCO, the ESCO should be liable for the “fixed amount compensation” for the “shortfall” loss due to failure to meet the “parameters”. The “fixed amount compensation” liability ESCO should bear is the object of parametric insurance. Therefore, this study attempted to explore the application issues related to using this parameter as a triggering factor for PI. How the “fixed amount compensation” should be calculated is not the subject of this study.

This paper explores the interaction between the energy costs/GDP ratio, energy prices, energy efficiency, “quality of energy’’, and economic growth. The relationships between the first three were formulated by the author back in 2007 in the form of three laws of energy transitions. The paper provides additional empirical evidence and theoretical support to these laws and looks into their implications for economic growth and climate mitigation policies. It argues for launching effective energy costs accounting at the national level to support such policies. It also argues that escalation of energy prices driven only by the growing share of higher quality energy resources does not impede, but stimulates economic growth. The paper shows, that improving energy efficiency results in the removal of the ‘limits of growth’ – affordability, resource and environmental limitations; but as it faces the ‘limits of change’, the trade-off between maximizing economic growth and minimizing GHG emissions is inevitable.

Energy demand flexibility is important for a sustainable transition of energy systems, and dynamic electricity pricing, like real-time pricing (RTP), is a popular instrument to incite households to time-shift energy demand. However, the effect of such pricing schemes varies substantially across contexts and depends on the expectations that dynamic price signals integrate into everyday routines and rhythms. This paper investigates the flexibility of the everyday routines and rhythms of households. Based on visits to 11 Danish households and interviews with electricity customers new to RTP, the study provides three insights. First, households expressed confusion over terminology for dynamic pricing products and low interest in flexible energy demand. Second, everyday practices (already) appeared flexible but for reasons other than energy demand flexibility. Third, energy habits were important for providing meaning to everyday practices. The study shows that energy flexibility is not just about energy demand, but rather about all the other activities that form routines and rhythms in everyday life. We suggest (1) designing products that reflect ‘natural’ or ‘societal’ daily rhythms, (2) focusing on the engaged households, and (3) being aware that for some households, changes in pricing, including new payment schemes, might put extra pressure on already harried everyday routines.

The global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have significantly increased global energy prices, resulting in higher household burdens for citizens. This study uses fuel poverty indicators to determine household vulnerability to increase in energy price in Japan. A web questionnaire was conducted asking about household income and fuel bills in 2021 and 2022, using Kobe City, Japan, as a case study. As the result, the percentage of fuel-poor households in 2022 was 5.39%, an increase of 0.23% over 2021. This suggests that fuel-poor households are increasing in response to increasing energy prices. The 2022 fuel poverty rate for elderly households was 1.48%, and it was 3.91% for households other than the elderly. Analysis result regarding the characteristics of households determined to be fuel-poor indicated that single-parent households were more likely to fall into fuel poverty than average households. A model combining binomial logistic regression and multiple regression analyses was derived to measure the effect of fuel poverty measures based on the questionnaire survey results. The study results of measures to reduce the time spent using climatization equipment during the daytime in summer by implementing energy sharing showed that all households and single-parent households could move out of fuel poverty. However, elderly households could not move out of fuel poverty, and an additional condition for breaking out of fuel poverty was an increase in the annual household income of elderly households by 0.2 million JPY (Japanese Yen).

The energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted affected countries to increase efforts to save energy. Despite substantial energy conservation observed across sectors, research has inadequately explored the reasons behind these savings. This study bridges this gap by analyzing the discourse on energy conservation during the crisis in Germany, using Twitter data. We analyse a set of 136,837 tweets from January 2022 until May 2023. The analysis consists of two approaches based on natural language processing (NLP): First, we conduct word counts within the days with high tweet activity related to energy saving to identify specific triggers. For a broader quantitative analysis, we then use text classification to categorize the data set into different aspects as well as different stances and investigate how these evolve during the crisis. Our results show a heightened focus on energy conservation in the Twitter debate during the crisis, reflected in an increase of the average monthly tweets from 730 (before 2022) to 8,552 in 2022/2023. Regarding the motivations, ethical concerns linked to the war play a larger role in the initial months, while other factors such as energy costs, solidarity aspects, and climate change are consistently present throughout the debate. Additionally, we note significant negative discourse regarding the policy measures enacted during the crisis, indicating that policy backlash is a critical issue, at least in the realm of the Twitter debate. Given the vital role of energy efficiency in combating climate change, comprehending the motivations and de-motivations behind voluntary energy conservation during the crisis offers valuable insights. This understanding can inform future policies aiming to encourage energy savings.