Analysing interventions for energy-efficient appliances and heating & cooling systems adoption: An agent-based model

Abstract

The transition towards energy efficiency in households is advancing slowly despite the increasing number of incentive policy interventions. It is imperative to assess the effectiveness of these interventions to prevent wasting resources or even jeopardizing the energy transition. An agent-based model was developed using the results of two discrete choice experiments to simulate the diffusion of 1) energy-efficient appliances and 2) heating & cooling systems among households. Policy interventions (information campaigns, engaging sales agencies, and providing district heating) on the diffusion of these two types of energy-efficient products have been simulated. The simulation results indicate that energy-efficient heating & cooling systems have the potential for widespread adoption, while appliances do not exhibit the same level of scalability. The results show that information campaigns targeting households' environmental attitudes have limited impacts on energy-efficient appliance diffusion while engaging sales agencies has a greater impact on energy-efficient appliance diffusion than information campaigns. Simulation results also show that district heating can achieve large-scale diffusion, and the main barrier to the diffusion is the accessibility of the infrastructure. This study contributes to designing effective strategies for accelerating energy transition in the residential sector.