scholarly journals Barriers to Energy Efficiency – Focus on Transaction Costs

10.14311/1247 ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Valentová
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Transaction Costs ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Principal Agent Problem ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Barriers To Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficiency Potential

This paper assesses the main barriers that prevent economic energy efficiency potential from being realized. The main barriers discussed here include energy prices (and prices of technology), limited access to capital, lack of information, incorrect risk assessment (i.e. setting a discount rate), the principal-agent problem and transaction costs. Transaction costs are analyzed in greater detail, as they are one way or another related to all of the barriers mentioned here. Based on the analysis, there is a discussion of implications for effective policy making. These are specially needed for transaction costs, where the availability of empirical data is very limited.

scholarly journals Energy Efficiency as a Wicked Problem

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Thollander ◽  
Jenny Palm ◽  
Johan Hedbrant
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Barriers To Energy Efficiency ◽  
Critical Model ◽  
Energy Efficiency Potential

Together with increased shares of renewable energy supply, improved energy efficiency is the foremost means of mitigating climate change. However, the energy efficiency potential is far from being realized, which is commonly explained by the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. Initially mentioned by Churchman, the term “wicked problems” became established in the 1970s, meaning a kind of problem that has a resistance to resolution because of incomplete, contradictory, or changing requirements. In the academic literature, wicked problems have later served as a critical model in the understanding of various challenges related to society, such as for example climate change mitigation. This aim of this paper is to analyze how the perspective of wicked problems can contribute to an enhanced understanding of improved energy efficiency. The paper draws examples from the manufacturing sector. Results indicate that standalone technology improvements as well as energy management and energy policy programs giving emphasis to standalone technology improvements may not represent a stronger form of a wicked problem as such. Rather, it seems to be the actual decision-making process involving values among the decision makers as well as the level of needed knowledge involved in decision-making that give rise to the “wickedness”. The analysis shows that wicked problems arise in socio-technical settings involving several components such as technology, systems, institutions, and people, which make post-normal science a needed approach.

scholarly journals Key Factors for Successful Implementation of Energy Efficiency Policy Instruments: A Theoretical Study and the Case of Latvia

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinis Aboltins ◽  
Dagnija Blumberga
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Energy Efficiency Policy ◽  
Correct Sequence ◽  
Barriers To Energy Efficiency

Abstract The success of energy efficiency policy depends on a number of factors, however, simultaneous application of more than just one policy instrument, coordination of multiple different policy instruments and a correct sequence of application of policy instruments are identified in research as three key factors related directly to policy making. Energy efficiency policy instruments are about the most appropriate ways of overcoming barriers to energy efficiency. The study adopts a policy analysis approach from social sciences to illustrate the relevance of a correct policy-making process in making energy efficiency policy effective. Analysis of interaction between the modules of decision-making matrix looks at the genesis of the faulty choice of energy efficiency policies. Studies of energy efficiency policy instruments indicate that implementation of a single separate policy instrument will most likely fail to achieve the expected results of overcoming barriers to energy efficiency and simultaneous implementation or combination of several policy instruments is preferable. If more than just one separate policy instrument aiming at improving energy efficiency is employed, then coordination in between two or more policy instruments as well as correct sequence of implementation of policy instruments is essential for achieving success. Lack of or insufficient attention to a full cycle of policy analysis leads to absence of one or more of the three key factors. Decision-making about energy efficiency policy instruments becomes faulty and is based on or influenced by ad hoc decisions and random circumstances, like, for example, availability or unavailability of EU financing. Such an approach contributes to maintaining or amplifying existing or creating new barriers to energy efficiency and leads to a new cycle of faulty decisions unless a proper process of policy analysis is applied in preparing and making decisions.

Electric End-Use Energy Efficiency Potential in the U.S. Single-Family Housing Stock

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Wilson ◽  
Craig Christensen ◽  
Scott Horowitz ◽  
Joseph Robertson ◽  
Jeff Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Family Housing ◽  
End Use ◽  
Energy Efficiency Potential ◽  
The U.S

Toward Sustainable Collections Management in the Yale Peabody Museum: Risk Assessment, Climate Management, and Energy Efficiency

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-268
Author(s):  
Lukasz Bratasz ◽  
Tim White ◽  
Susan Butts ◽  
Catherine Sease ◽  
Nathan Utrup ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Collections Management ◽  
Peabody Museum ◽  
Climate Management

scholarly journals Energy Efficiency in the Urban Scale: Case Study – Prague, Czech Republic

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Yunitsyna ◽  
Ernest Shtepani
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Volume Ratio ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Earth Model ◽  
Geometrical Shape ◽  
Urban Patterns ◽  
Energy Efficiency Potential ◽  
Gains And Losses

Cities are a complex mass of morphological properties of many city fragments, which play a major role in energy consumption. Urban form, urban patterns, or city fragments can also be seen as defined by algorithms or form generators.  Cities are designed taking into account infrastructure, city standards and land use regulations. Energy efficiency of the urban form may be understood as the balance between gains and losses of energy, which may depend on a set of parameters mostly defined by the geometrical shape of the buildings and the distance between them. The study starts from the development and analysis of 60 hypothetical models in order to evaluate their energy efficiency potential. The Galapagos Evolutionary Solver is used as a tool in order to find the set of parameters, which brings to the morphological properties the optimal combination of density and surface-to-volume ratio. At the final stage morphological properties of 64 Prague’s patterns were selected.  Computer simulation and analysis is performed using the models extracted from the virtual Google Earth model of Prague. During the process of evaluation of the samples, the relationship between the urban form and such parameters as plot coverage, surface-to-volume ratio and the incident solar radiation was established and potentially higher energy efficient structures were indicated. As the result of analysis the interrelation between urban form and energy efficiency was established, which allowed to identify the urban patterns with the higher potential of energy efficiency.

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