Evaluating ten years of energy performance of HERS-rated homes in Alachua County,Florida

This paper evaluates the performance of 1,346 homes in Alachua County, Florida that were Home Energy Rating System (HERS)-rated between February 1998 and December 2009 for participation in various energy-efficiency programs for new residential construction. The primary analysis objective is to measure the energy-efficiency performance of these HERS-rated homes against conventionally built homes using metered energy consumption data for calendar years 2000–2010. A secondary objective is to assess performance of the four major builders of HERS-rated homes. In calendar year 2000, average energy savings for all HERS-rated homes was 18 %. However, over the following decade average savings degraded steadily, stabilizing around 7 % in the last 5 years of the analysis. We conclude that, while HERS-rated homes in the study area are performing better than similar conventionally built homes, the average HERS-rated home is not achieving the level of savings anticipated based on its HERS score and related energy-efficiency program participation. Differences in savings among builders of HERS-rated homes suggest that variations in program implementation and construction practices can yield significantly different energy performance results. Of the four builders tested, the least efficient averaged 3 % less energy consumed than conventionally built homes, while the most efficient averaged 21 % less. Overall, findings of this study indicate the need for re-examination of the HERS-rating process as a primary benchmark and for increased emphasis on direct measurement and verification of performance using historical energy consumption data.     

State-level benefits of energy efficiency

This paper describes benefits attributable to state-level energy efficiency programs. Nationwide, state-level energy efficiency programs have targeted all sectors of the economy and have employed a wide range of methods to promote energy efficiency. Standard residential and industrial programs typically identify between 20% and 30% energy savings in homes and plants, respectively. Over a 20-year period of time, an average state that aggressively pursues even a limited array of energy efficiency programs can potentially reduce total state energy use by as much as 20%. Well-designed energy efficiency programs can be expected to help overcome numerous barriers to the market penetration of energy efficient technologies and accelerate the market penetration of the technologies. Energy efficiency programs are cost-effective; typical benefit–cost ratios exceed 3:1 and are much higher when non-energy and macroeconomic benefits are included. Indeed, energy efficiency and associated programs and investments can create significant numbers of new jobs and enhance state tax revenues. Several states have incorporated energy efficiency into their economic development programs. It should also be noted that increasing amounts of venture capital are being invested in the energy sector in general and in specific technologies like solar power in particular.     

Feed-in tariffs for promotion of energy storage technologies

Faster market integration of new energy technologies can be achieved by use of proper support mechanisms that will create favourable market conditions for such technologies. The best examples of support mechanisms presented in the last two decades have been the various schemes for the promotion of renewable energy sources (RES). In the EU, the most successful supporting schemes are feed-in tariffs which have significantly increased utilisation of renewable energy sources in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and many other EU countries. Despite the successful feed-in tariffs for RES promotion, in many cases RES penetration is limited by power system requirements linked to the intermittency of RES sources and technical capabilities of grids. These problems can be solved by implementation of energy storage technologies like reversible or pumped hydro, hydrogen, batteries or any other technology that can be used for balancing or dump load. In this paper, feed-in tariffs for various energy storage technologies are discussed along with a proposal for their application in more appropriate regions. After successful application on islands and outermost regions, energy storage tariffs should be also applied in mainland power systems. Increased use of energy storage could optimise existing assets on the market.     

Ensuring market supply and penetration of efficient lighting technologies

Lighting is one of the major uses of electricity. State-of-the-art lighting systems can increase efficiency and reduce energy demand, but substantial market barriers hamper market penetration. In recognition of these market realities, electric utilities and government agencies in several IEA-member countries have begun to focus their efforts on demand-side oriented activities, such as light bulb give-aways, audits, education, standards promulgation, and other programmes. For example, in the U.S. the shipment of compact fluorescent lamps almost doubled between 1988 and 1990 and is forecast to increase by about 280% between 1991 and 1995. We project that annual utility spending on incentives for efficient lighting will grow to ~$300 to 800 million by 1994. These campaigns can also result in temporary supply short-ages, which can in turn impede successful implementation of the programmes. Efforts to address the problem must begin by enhancing cooperation and information exchange among utilities, manufacturers, and customers.     

Energy conservation through energy service companies: Empirical analysis from China

China's energy-service companies (ESCOs) have developed only modestly despite favorable political and market conditions. We argue that with sophisticated market institutions still evolving in China, trust-based relations between ESCOs and energy customers are essential for successful implementation of energy efficiency projects. Chinese ESCOs, who are predominantly small and private enterprises, perform poorly in terms of trust-building because they are disembedded from local business, social, and political networks. We conclude that in the current institutional setting, the ESCO model based on market relations has serious limitations and is unlikely to lead to large-scale implementation of energy efficiency projects in China.     

Savings estimates for the E S voluntary labeling program

E S ^® is a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products. Operated jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), E S labels exist for more than 20 products, spanning office equipment, residential heating and cooling equipment, new homes, commercial and residential lighting, home electronics, and major appliances. We present estimates of the energy, dollar and carbon savings already achieved by the program and provide savings forecasts for several market penetration scenarios for the period 2001–2010.The target market penetration forecast represents our best estimate of future E S savings. It is based on realistic market penetration goals for each of the products. We also provide a forecast under the assumption of 100% market penetration; that is, we assume that all purchasers buy E S -compliant products instead of standard efficiency products throughout the analysis period. Finally, we assess the sensitivity of our target penetration case forecasts to greater or lesser marketing success by EPA and DOE, lower-than-expected future energy prices, and higher or lower rates of carbon emissions by electricity generators.     

Outlook for solar water heaters in Taiwan

The share of indigenous energy supply continuously decreases over the last two decades in Taiwan. The development and use of renewable energy sources and technologies are becoming vital for the management of energy supply and demand. For promotion of solar water heaters, the incentive programs were firstly initiated in the period of 1986–1991 and re-initiated from 2000 to the present. These programs create an economic incentive for the end users and have a drastic effect on the popularization of solar water heaters. To further promote solar water heaters during the current incentive program period, several key factors are addressed. In addition to the cost of solar water heaters and energy price index, the potential market of solar water heaters in Taiwan is associated with the climatic conditions, population structure, urbanization, building type of housing and status of new construction.     

Energy efficiency outlook in China’s urban buildings sector through 2030

This study uses bottom-up modeling framework in order to quantify potential energy savings and emission reduction impacts from the implementation of energy efficiency programs in the building sector in China. Policies considered include (1) accelerated building codes in residential and commercial buildings, (2) increased penetration of district heat metering and controls, (3) district heating efficiency improvement, (4) building energy efficiency labeling programs and (5) retrofits of existing commercial buildings.Among these programs, we found that the implementation of building codes provide by far the largest savings opportunity, leading to an overall 17% reduction in overall space heating and cooling demand relative to the baseline. Second are energy efficiency labels with 6%, followed by reductions of losses associated with district heating representing 4% reduction and finally, retrofits representing only about a 1% savings.     

Economic and environmental impacts from the implementation of an intelligent demand side management system at the European level

This paper presents the results of an analysis on the economic and environmental impacts of the application of an intelligent demand side management system, called the Energy Consumption Management System (ECMS), in the European countries. The ECMS can be applied for the control of individual, widely distributed electric loads, using the power distribution network as the command communication channel. The system can be applied in public lighting, in the tertiary and residential sectors, as well as in the industry. A top-down analysis investigates the possible penetration levels in each application area. The long-term impacts following the application of system are evaluated using the LEAP2006 platform. The WASP IV model is also used for the optimization of the power generation expansion and the corresponding calibration of LEAP2006. Several operational strategies combining variable market penetration of the ECMS and expected energy savings are examined. Results show that, under a logical market penetration, a reduction of 1–4% in primary energy, of 1.5–5% in CO₂ emissions and a 2–8% saving in investment costs for power generation expansion is to be expected for the EU-15. The results also justify that innovative devices may be attractive to end users and also help in the implementation of global energy-saving policies.     

Market penetration rates of new energy technologies

The market penetration rates of 11 different new energy technologies were studied covering energy production and end-use technologies. The penetration rates were determined by fitting observed market data to an epidemical diffusion model. The analyses show that the exponential penetration rates of new energy technologies may vary from 4 up to over 40%/yr. The corresponding take-over times from a 1% to 50% share of the estimated market potential may vary from less than 10 to 70 years. The lower rate is often associated with larger energy impacts. Short take-over times less than 25 years seem to be mainly associated with end-use technologies. Public policies and subsides have an important effect on the penetration. Some technologies penetrate fast without major support explained by technology maturity and competitive prices, e.g. compact fluorescent lamps show a 24.2%/yr growth rate globally. The penetration rates determined exhibit some uncertainty as penetration has not always proceeded close to saturation. The study indicates a decreasing penetration rate with increasing time or market share. If the market history is short, a temporally decreasing functional form for the penetration rate coefficient could be used to anticipate the probable behavior.     

“千家企业节能行动”是重点用能单位节能管理的尝试

重点用能单位节能是我国节能工作的一个重点。本文以“千家企业节能行动”为例,分析了在我国开展重点用能单位节能管理工作的必要性和可行性,讨论了“千家企业节能行动”的目标制订、分解和实施过程,并提出了进一步推进“千家企业节能行动”的政策和管理建议。研究结果表明,作为重点用能单位节能管理的一个尝试,“千家企业节能行动”可为我国的节能工作做出重要的贡献,应通过各种监督管理和政策措施推动重点企业节能工作的开展。     

Financing and disseminating small energy systems in rural areas

The viability of small energy systems, primarily photovoltaic systems, is discussed as an alternative for rural electrification via traditional grid extension. A dissemination model that incorporates financing to allow access to a much larger population of users and technology support (e.g., training for sales and service and small business development) is described. The experience of two successful programs is presented to illustrate the keys to effective program development and implementation.     

Data network equipment energy use and savings potential in buildings

Network connectivity has become nearly ubiquitous, and the energy use of the equipment required for this connectivity is growing. Network equipment consists of devices that primarily switch and route Internet Protocol (IP) packets from a source to a destination, and this category specifically excludes edge devices like PCs, servers and other sources, and sinks of IP traffic. This paper presents the results of a study of network equipment energy use and includes case studies of networks in a campus, a medium commercial building, and a typical home. The total energy use of network equipment is the product of the stock of equipment in use, the power of each device, and their usage patterns. This information was gathered from market research reports, broadband market penetration studies, field metering, and interviews with network administrators and service providers. We estimate that network equipment in the USA used 18 TWh, or about 1% of building electricity, in 2008 and that consumption is expected to grow at roughly 6% per year to 23 TWh in 2012; world usage in 2008 was 51 TWh. This study shows that office building network switches and residential equipment are the two largest categories of energy use consuming 40% and 30% of the total respectively. We estimate potential energy savings for different scenarios using forecasts of equipment stock and energy use, and savings estimates range from 20% to 50% based on full market penetration of efficient technologies.     

建立我国能效信息标识制度的有关问题

国际经验表明,对家用电器和设备实施能效信息标识制度能有效的遏制能源消耗增长势头。鉴于能源安全和环境保护的双重压力,我国将建立和实施适应市场经济体制的能效标识制度。本文对建立能效标识制度的相关问题进行了探讨,并提出建议,即针对量大面广、节能潜力的大的产品,以发布目录的形式,实施强制性的“可比较的”能效等级标识;实施模式为“企业自我说明+强化市场监管”;产品能效等级的划分即要考虑市场上产品能效的分布情况,也要考虑实施监管和消费者的甄别能力等因素;标识样式应反映文化因素和消费者的能效意识水平,并进行市场调查;应加强能效标识符合性的能力建设,以推动制度的顺利实施。     

The value of domestic building energy efficiency — evidence from Ireland

Following the transposition of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive into Irish law, all properties offered for sale or to let in Ireland are obliged to have an energy efficiency rating. This paper analyses the effect of energy efficiency ratings on the sale and rental prices of properties in the Republic of Ireland. Using the Heckman selection technique we model the decision to advertise the energy efficiency rating of a property and the effect of energy efficiency ratings on property values. Our results show that energy efficiency has a positive effect on both the sales and rental prices of properties, and that the effect is significantly stronger in the sales segment of the property market. We also analyse the effect of energy efficiency across different market conditions and we find that the effect of the energy rating is generally stronger where market conditions are worse.     

Market response to the public display of energy performance rating at property sales

Energy labels have generally received positive response from consumers and have moved the market for white goods and cars in the direction of more energy-efficient products. On the real estate market, it was expected that an energy label, rating the energy performance of a property based on a national energy performance certificate (EPC) might receive similar response. However, in Denmark no response to the energy performance rating was observed for 15 years. This was a surprise considering that Denmark was the first country to implement an A to G rating of the energy performance of buildings. A statistical examination of data on property sales prices and energy performance ratings was carried out. All relevant property transaction data from 2007 till 2012 were examined and they showed that energy performance ratings had an impact on property sales prices. However, before June 2010, the impact was modest, whereas after June 2010 the impact of energy performance ratings on property sales prices increased significantly as a result of an EU requirement to display the energy performance rating in connection with property sales. On this background, it was concluded that a public display of the energy performance rating is fundamental for market response.     

What drives renewable energy development?

This viewpoint reviews renewable energy development in 14 markets that differ in market structure (restructured vs. not restructured), use of feed-in-tariff (FIT) (yes vs. no), transmission planning (anticipatory vs. reactive), and transmission interconnection cost allocated to a renewable generator (high vs. low). We find that market restructuring is not a primary driver of renewable energy development. Renewable generation has the highest percent of total installed capacity in markets that use a FIT, employ anticipatory transmission planning, and have loads or end-users paying for most, if not all, of the transmission interconnection costs. In contrast, renewable developers have been less successful in markets that do not use a FIT, employ reactive transmission planning, and have generators paying for most, if not all, of the transmission interconnection costs. While these policies can lead to higher penetration of renewable energy in the short run, their high cost to ratepayers can threaten the economic sustainability of renewable energy in the long-run.     

Time development of new hydrogen transmission pipeline networks for France

The development of a hydrogen economy will need a transportation infrastructure to deliver hydrogen from production sites to end users. For the specific case of hydrogen, pipelines networks compete with other hydrogen carriers: compressed gas trucks and liquid cryogenic trucks. In this paper, we deal with the determination of the temporal deployment of a new hydrogen transportation infrastructure. Starting from the expected final horizon pipelines network, we propose a backward heuristic approach. The proposed approach is illustrated on a French regional hydrogen transportation network tacking into account two scenarios for hydrogen penetration into the fuel markets. We showed that for the mid term perspective and low market share, the trucks are the most economical options. However, for the long term, the pipeline option is considered as an economical viable option as soon as the hydrogen energy market share for the car fueling market reaches 10%.     

Social,cultural and political dimensions of off-grid renewable energy programs in developing countries

Renewable energy based off-grid rural electrification programs are one of the most effective ways to increase access to energy in remote areas of developing countries. While a large number of such programs have been implemented, the rate of success, to ensure a long-term sustainable program, is low. Many of these programs have failed to appropriately address the social and cultural issues of target communities, which resulted low or no acceptance by the users. Similarly, many rural electrification policies fail to incorporate the needs and views of the users resulting in an unresponsive policy measures. In this paper a framework is presented that would assist in assessing community attitudes and their needs by presenting key factors that need to be considered in different stages of program development and implementation. The framework has been developed in line with the concept of “diffusion of innovation”, which has been found to be in agreement with the stages of off-grid renewable energy program development. It is anticipated that this holistic framework will not only help to achieve a long-term sustainable program, but will also offer a significant contribution in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by improving access to energy for rural people in developing countries.