scholarly journals The Welfare Effects of Nudges: A Case Study of Energy Use Social Comparisons

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunt Allcott ◽  
Judd Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Welfare Effects

scholarly journals The Welfare Effects of Nudges: A Case Study of Energy Use Social Comparisons

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 236-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunt Allcott ◽  
Judd B. Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Welfare Effects ◽  
Prediction Algorithm ◽  
Welfare Gains ◽  
Intervention Home ◽  
Evaluation Approaches

“Nudge”-style interventions are often deemed successful if they generate large behavior change at low cost, but they are rarely subjected to full social welfare evaluations. We combine a field experiment with a simple theoretical framework to evaluate the welfare effects of one especially policy-relevant intervention, home energy social comparison reports. In our sample, the reports increase social welfare, although traditional evaluation approaches overstate gains because they ignore significant costs incurred by nudge recipients. Overall, home energy report welfare gains might be overstated by $620 million. We develop a prediction algorithm for optimal targeting; this approach would double the welfare gains. (JEL C93, D91, L95, Q41, Q48)

Side effects of cultured bacteria addition in wastewater collection system on plant operations – a case study

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanjin Liu ◽  
Giraldo Eugenio
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Collection System ◽  
Oil And Grease ◽  
Odor Control ◽  
Plant Operations ◽  
Cultured Bacteria ◽  
Wastewater Collection

Cultured bacteria addition is one of the technologies used for odor control and FOG (fat, oil, and grease) removal in wastewater collection systems. This study investigated the efficiency of bacterial addition on wastewater odor control by conducting a set of full scale trials in a 60,000 cubic meter per day system for a period of two years. The objectives of this study were: (i) to identify factors that could impact wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operations due to the effect of bacterial addition in the collection system, (ii) to estimate/understand the level of those impacts, and (iii) to present some interesting findings from the completed case study. The plant operation data before and during the bacterial addition were reviewed. The application of the cultured bacteria presented in the study was found to have significant impacts on the operation of the WWTP in terms of influent biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) loading, primary settling, sludge production, energy use, dissolved sulfides concentration, and methane production.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Framework for Standardising System Boundary Definition in Life Cycle Energy Assessments

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Hossein Omrany ◽  
Veronica Soebarto ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
Ruidong Chang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
System Boundary ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Energy Assessment ◽  
Boundary Definition ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.

scholarly journals A Framework for Assessing Commitment Indicators in Sustainable Development Decisions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5234
Author(s):  
Mustafa S. Al-Tekreeti ◽  
Salwa M. Beheiry ◽  
Vian Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Capital Projects ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Corporate Leaders ◽  
Corporate Decisions ◽  
Waste Energy ◽  
Infrastructure Project

Numerous decision support systems have been developed to address the decision-making process in organizations. However, there are no developed mechanisms to track commitment down the line to the decisions made by corporate leaders. This paper is a portion of a study that establishes a framework for a comprehensive metric system to assess commitment to Sustainable Development (SD) decisions down the line in capital projects, and sets the groundwork for further development of performance indicators for SD outcomes. This ultimately leads to investigating the relationship between commitment to corporate decisions and better project performance in SD parameters. Hence, this study explores the literature to extract relevant parameters that reflect the degree of the project participants’ commitment to SD decisions and to develop commitment indicators. The study created then validated an index to track this commitment along the project stages: the Sustainable Development Commitment Tracking Tool (SDCTT). The SDCTT was tested on an infrastructure project case study. In this paper, techniques relevant to the first stage of projects (planning and definition) are presented. The SDCTT is the groundwork for the future development of performance indicators for SD outcomes, and within the postulated model should ultimately contribute towards reducing project waste, energy use, and carbon emissions.

scholarly journals Evaluation of CO2 emissions and energy use with different container terminal layouts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Arif Budiyanto ◽  
Muhammad Hanzalah Huzaifi ◽  
Simon Juanda Sirait ◽  
Putu Hangga Nan Prayoga
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Container Terminal ◽  
Container Terminals ◽  
Future Planning ◽  
Container Handling

AbstractSustainable development of container terminals is based on energy efficiency and reduction in CO2 emissions. This study estimated the energy consumption and CO2 emissions in container terminals according to their layouts. Energy consumption was calculated based on utility data as well as fuel and electricity consumptions for each container-handling equipment in the container terminal. CO2 emissions were estimated using movement modality based on the number of movements of and distance travelled by each container-handling equipment. A case study involving two types of container terminal layouts i.e. parallel and perpendicular layouts, was conducted. The contributions of each container-handling equipment to the energy consumption and CO2 emissions were estimated and evaluated using statistical analysis. The results of the case study indicated that on the CO2 emissions in parallel and perpendicular layouts were relatively similar (within the range of 16–19 kg/TEUs). These results indicate that both parallel and perpendicular layouts are suitable for future ports based on sustainable development. The results can also be used for future planning of operating patterns and layout selection in container terminals.

scholarly journals UNDERSTANDING THE EMBEDDED CARBON CHALLENGES OF BUILDING SERVICE SYSTEMS

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 3279-3288
Author(s):  
Maria Hein ◽  
Darren Anthony Jones ◽  
Claudia Margot Eckert
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Current System ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Service Systems ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Operational Energy

AbstractEnergy consumed in buildings is a main contributor to CO2 emissions, there is therefore a need to improve the energy performance of buildings, particularly commercial buildings whereby building service systems are often substantially over-designed due to the application of excess margins during the design process.The cooling system of an NHS Hospital was studied and modelled in order to identify if the system was overdesigned, and to quantify the oversizing impact on the system operational and embodied carbon footprints. Looking at the operational energy use and environmental performance of the current system as well as an alternative optimised system through appropriate modelling and calculation, the case study results indicate significant environmental impacts are caused by the oversizing of cooling system.The study also established that it is currently more difficult to obtain an estimate of the embodied carbon footprint of building service systems. It is therefore the responsibility of the machine builders to provide information and data relating to the embodied carbon of their products, which in the longer term, this is likely to become a standard industry requirement.

scholarly journals Assessment of water and energy use at process level in the U.S. beef packing industry: Case study in a typical U.S. large‐size plant

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. e12919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaobin Li ◽  
Rami M. M. Ziara ◽  
Bruce Dvorak ◽  
Jeyamkondan Subbiah
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Process Level ◽  
The U.S
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