Oxera Consulting, 2006
Summary
In understanding the reasons for the low take-up of energy efficiency measures in the UK domestic housing sector, it is possible to determine how to make energy efficiency improvements more attractive to householders and design appropriate policies. The study begins by consolidating evaluations of previous and existing policies, combining this with an economic literature review of what affects energy efficiency take-up by households. As a result, several hypotheses of the reaction of householders to policies are identified, and the strength of evidence supporting these hypotheses is assessed. This process identified a lack of primary evidence in order to make policy decisions more confidently. The review also identified suggestions for designs for policy and issues to be taken into account in determining whether intervention is desirable. The survey was designed to gather data to fill gaps in existing knowledge and to allow testing of hypotheses about how people make choices about energy efficiency. Analysis of this data reveals the significant drivers of choice and the magnitude of their influence can be estimated precisely. Once the main influences of choice have been identified, models are built, representing the character of the UK housing and appliance stock and the preferences driving homeowners’ decisions. These drivers, such as prices, are linked to potential policy levers, such as price discounts and awareness campaigns. The model was then used to predict the take-up of energy efficiency measures by homeowners in response to a range of candidate policies, and hence to determine how effective those policies would be. The most important finding is that future energy savings do not appear to be an important factor in a householder’s decision to fit insulation or to buy efficient appliances. Other factors have much more influence in the decision, first of all the price. Also of great importance is the finding that most households have very poor knowledge of the characteristics of energy efficiency measures – for example, having little idea about the costs of common insulation measures. Of those who do have some idea, most have over-inflated expectations of the costs, and only a small minority have accurate knowledge. The greatest scope for savings among the efficiency measures lies in cavity wall insulation (CWI), followed by loft insulation (LI) and lighting.
Energy Saving Trust, 2013
Summary
There is a significant potential for abatement of CO emissions through uptake of energy efficiency measures in the UK building stock. These include thermal insulation measures which reduce the heating demand, electrical appliances that reduce the electricity consumption and replacement of existing heating and lighting equipment with more efficient technology, often driven by regulations. Energy efficiency measures can also reduce the cost of energy, potentially offsetting any increases required to reduce the carbon intensity of fuel supply. Efficiency measures are often amongst the most cost effective means of carbon reduction. This study reviews and updates the evidence base on the remaining technical potential for the installation of energy efficiency measures and generates the marginal abatement cost curves (MACC). The remaining technical potential in 2013 and the energy savings attributed to each measure result in a total potential for annual emission savings of around 49Mt (without the inclusion of in use factors). These savings take into account any potential overlap between the impacts of measures when applied together. The study identifies for solid wall insulation (SWI) a cost effectiveness of £79/t and £361/t for internal and external insulation respectively, which is low compared to previous MACC models. This is due to a higher cost of installation and lower energy savings from an overall improvement in stock boiler efficiency. Moreover, the revised cost evidence for SWI shows that these costs vary between £8,500 - £12,000 and £4,000 - £10,500 for external and internal SWI respectively. The energy savings from SWI with the revised modelling across UK stock, taking into account improved boiler efficiencies, results in weighted average savings of 6,700kWh /year and 6,000kWh /year for external and internal SWI respectively. The major cost-effective energy efficiency measures include cavity wall insulation (CWI) and loft insulation. The biggest potential for emission savings is represented by SWI and new double glazing which have combined savings of around 14Mt (28% of total). The presentation of results includes graphs showing first the technical potential for annual emission savings (Mt), second the annualised cost, fuel savings (£), net cost and annual emission savings (t), and third marginal abatement cost curves for all measures without any in use factors.
Lehr, Ulrike et al., 2011
Summary
The paper presents results of the implementation of an efficiency strategy in Germany until 2020 which is focused on cost-effective measures. The efficiency measures are calculated in bottom-up models and translated into a top-down macro-economic model. The comparison to a business as usual simulation shows some economy-wide rebound effects of about 17% of the overall energy savings. Given that an efficiency strategy is a long-term strategy, this puts the results on the rather conservative side. The sum of the economy-wide net effects is positive. Gross production, GDP and its components consumption, investment and trade are higher in the efficiency scenario due to the efficiency measures over the whole simulation period (2009 – 2020). Obviously, higher production does not directly translate into higher value added, because it is partly imported and also increases imported inputs according to the German trade structure. A considerable share of the additional GDP stems from private consumption (18.3 billion Euros). The direct effect comes from consumption of energy efficient goods, but there is a large indirect effect from additional consumption due to energy savings. The reallocation of funds from energy expenditure to consumption leads to more employment in all sectors. Employment also rises in the construction sector and in production, adding to the consumption effect.
J.M. Clancy; F. Gaffney; J.P. Deane; J. Curtis; B.P. Ógallachóir, 2015
Summary
Several electricity systems supply significant proportions of electricity from weather dependent renewable sources. Different quantification methods have estimated the associated historical savings of fuel and CO2 emissions. Primary energy equivalent and econometric methods do not readily quantify factors like operational changes to fossil fuel generation arising from the integration of renewable energy. Dispatch models can overcome these limitations, but are generally applied to future scenarios. A dispatch model is applied to ex-post data for the 2012 All Island system in Ireland. Renewable electricity accounted for 20.4 % of total generation, 15.8 % from wind. The results show renewable generation averted a 26 % increase in fossil fuels (valued at €297 million) and avoided an 18 % increase in CO2 emissions (2.85 MtCO2), as compared to the simulated 2012 system without renewable generation. Each MWh of renewable electricity avoided on average 0.43 tCO2 with wind avoiding 0.46 tCO2/MWh. Additional renewable related balancing requirements had minor impacts on fossil fuel generation efficiency; CO2 production rates increased by <2%. Policy measures to alleviate network congestion, increase system flexibility and increase financial penalties on emissions can increase savings from renewable generation.
Pollitt, Hector; Alexandri, Eva; Anagnostopoulos, Filippos; De Rose, Antonio; Farhangi, Cyrus; Hoste, Thijs; Markannen, Sanna; Theillard, Perrine; Vergez, Coralie; Voogt, Monique, 2017
Summary
This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the macro-level and sectoral impacts of energy efficiency policies. It is a first attempt to apply this framework to make a comprehensive quantitative assessment of such multiple benefits and their trade-offs. It shows that enhanced energy efficiency in Europe beyond a 27% target for 2030 could led to substantial social, economic and environmental effects. The six impact areas analysed are : economy and labour market; health; the environment; social impacts; public budgets; and industrial competitiveness.
DianaÜrge-Vorsatz, Agnes Kelemen, Sergio Tirado-Herrero, StefanThomas, Johannes Thema, Nora Mzavanadze, Dorothea Hauptstock, Felix Suerkemper, Jens Teubler, Mukesh Gupta, Souran Chatterjee, 2016
Summary
The paper identifies a few key challenges to the evaluation of the co-impacts of low-carbon options and demonstrates that these are more complex for co-impacts than for the direct ones. Such challenges include several layers of additionality, high context dependency, and accounting for distributional effects.