Cost-effective Energy Efficiency Measures Research Articles

The logic of business vs. the logic of energy management practice: understanding the choices and effects of energy consumption monitoring systems in shipping companies

A major part of the world fleet of more than 47,000 merchant ships operates under conditions that hamper energy efficiency and efforts to cut CO2 emissions. Valid and reliable data sets on ships' energy consumption are often missing in shipping markets and within shipping organizations, leading to the non-implementation of cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Policy makers are aiming to remedy this, e.g., through the EU Monitoring, Verification and Reporting scheme. In this paper, current practices for energy consumption monitoring in ship operations are explored based on interviews with 55 professionals in 34 shipping organizations in Denmark. Best practices, which require several years to implement, are identified, as are common challenges in implementing such practices—related to data collection, incentives for data misreporting, data analysis problems, as well as feedback and communication problems between ship and shore. This study shows how the logic of good energy consumption monitoring practices conflict with common business practices in shipping companies – e.g., through short-term vessel charters and temporary ship organizations – which in turn can explain the slow adoption of energy efficiency measures in the industry. This study demonstrates a role for policy makers or other third parties in mandating or standardizing good energy consumption monitoring practices beyond the present requirements.

Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production

As one of the most energy-, emission- and pollution-intensive industries, iron and steel production is responsible for significant emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutants. Although many energy-efficiency measures have been proposed by the Chinese government to mitigate GHG emissions and to improve air quality, lacking full understanding of the costs and benefits has created barriers against implementing these measures widely. This paper sets out to advance the understanding by addressing the knowledge gap in costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures in iron and steel production. Specifically, we build a new evaluation framework to quantify energy benefits and environmental benefits (i.e., CO2 emission reduction, air-pollutants emission reduction and water savings) associated with 36 energy-efficiency measures. Results show that inclusion of benefits from CO2 and air-pollutants emission reduction affects the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures significantly, while impacts from water-savings benefits are moderate but notable when compared to the effects by considering energy benefits alone. The new information resulted from this study should be used to augment future programs and efforts in reducing energy use and environmental impacts associated with steel production.

Assessment of cost-optimality and technical solutions in high performance multi-residential buildings in the Mediterranean area

The European policy framework is focused on reducing energy consumption in the building sector. The recast of Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) Directive establishes that minimum energy performance requirements have to be set to achieve cost-optimal levels.A methodology is developed to assess energy and cost effectiveness in new buildings located in the Mediterranean area. Several energy efficiency technical variants are applied to a multi residential reference building selected as a representative model of the national building stock. Primary energy consumption and global costs are evaluated in a number of configurations to derive the cost-optimal solution.The paper shows how economical high efficient buildings can be obtained at a design stage for a warm climate. The selected configuration decreases primary energy consumption by 90% and CO2 emissions by 88% with respect to the baseline building.Results appear useful for comparison with other climates and building types. The paper also points out that the methodology is suitable to guide and support the choice of cost effective energy efficiency measures in compliance with EU requirements.

Assessment of energy-saving and emission reduction potentials in China’s ammonia industry

As one of the most energy-, emission- and pollution-intensive industries, the production of ammonia is responsible for significant emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and local air pollutants. Although many energy efficiency measures have been proposed by Chinese government to mitigate GHG emissions and improve air quality, a less than full understanding of the costs and potentials have been barrier to promoting and implementing these measures. Assessing the costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of different energy efficiency measures is essential to advancing this understanding. In this study, a bottom-up energy conservation supply curve was used to estimate the potential of 26 energy efficiency measures in China’s ammonia industry. Their cost-effective implementation results in a potential saving of 271.5 PJ/year for fuels and 5.44 TWh/year for electricity, which equals to 14 % and 14 % of fuel and electricity consumed in the ammonia industry in 2012, and would be responsible for mitigating emissions of annual 26.7 Mt CO2. In addition, the co-benefits of air pollutants emission reductions that result from energy savings were quantified. The results advance the understanding of the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures and can be used to augment the efforts in reducing energy use and environmental impacts.

Cost-availability curves for hierarchical implementation of residential energy-efficiency measures

Historical residential electricity data and natural gas consumption data were collected for, respectively, 1,200 and 178 residences in a small town in the USA. These data were merged with local building and weather databases, and energy consumption models were developed for each residence, revealing substantial variation in heating and cooling intensity. After estimating approximate physical building characteristics, energy profiles for each residence were calculated, and savings from adoption of the most cost-effective energy-efficiency measures for each residence were estimated. Effectively, we wish to leverage commonly available data sets to infer characteristics of building envelopes and equipment, without the need for detailed on-site audits. This study evaluates the potential energy savings for the residences studied and, by extrapolation, for the entire town, as a function of cost if the savings measures were to be implemented in rank-order of cost effectiveness to show that savings penetration for the community comes with nonlinearly increasing cost. The results show that nearly a 32 % collective savings in HVAC energy use could be achieved with a collective levelized cost for energy-saving measures of $10/mmBTU saved if the most cost-effective measures among the entire community are implemented first.

An analysis of the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures and factors affecting their implementation: a case study of Thai sugar industry

We use bottom-up conservation supply curves (CSC) to analyze the cost-effectiveness of various energy efficiency measures for the Thai sugar industry. The study was conducted in two parts. First, energy efficiency measures were identified from data collected from five leading Thai sugar mills (four recommended by the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board and the last being owned by the world’s sixth largest sugar producer). The CSC indicates that 15 energy efficiency measures are cost-effective and 2 measures are not cost-effective. Next, we surveyed nine other Thai sugar factories to consider the average potential energy saving and the factors which might influence implementation of such energy efficiency measures. The average energy saving currently being achieved by the nine factories is 77 %, which indicates that 23 % of the energy saving potential is not being achieved. The key driving forces indicated by the nine factories were the potential to reduce energy costs and creating a good “green” image for the company. The main barriers were investment attitudes towards high investment cost and the low commercial value of bagasse. In relation to investment attitudes, it was found that Thai sugar mills focus on sugar production capacity and lack interest in energy efficiency measures, especially those which require a high investment cost. This is partly because the industry produces low commercial of bagasse that can be used to generate electricity, so that energy is not seen as an important cost of production.

Drivers and Barriers to Energy Efficiency Management for Sustainable Development

An increasing number of industries are seeking to use energy more efficiently due to market pressure, public awareness of environmental sustainability, and rising energy costs and volatility. Energy efficiency is potentially one of the most important and cost-effective means by which industries can mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions for sustainable development. Despite the availability of cost-effective energy efficiency measures in industries, these are not always implemented due to various barriers and obstacles. This research investigates the current status of energy management practices in the Korean steel industry in order to examine how drivers and barriers to energy efficiency operate, the circumstances in which these practices arise and the extent to which public policy or organizational change may overcome them. This study finds that market-based factors, as well as organizational/individual behavioural factors, play important roles in energy efficiency investment towards sustainable development. In particular, economic factors (cost savings, energy tax, capital budget, cost of identifying and analysing business opportunities, beneficial loans for energy efficiency investments) and organizational factors (technical risk, lack of manager's influence, owner's demand, top management commitment, and corporate reputation) seriously affect energy efficiency in the steel industry. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

The impact of energy performance on single-family home selling prices in Sweden

Purpose – This study aims to test whether energy performance effects single-family home sale prices. It also examines whether recommendations for supposedly cost-effective energy efficiency measures, by intervention category (construction, installation or operation/control technical measures), are perceived as untapped potential – a real option – that effects sale prices. Design/methodology/approach – The energy performance measurement and dummy variables for three categories of improvement recommendations are included as explanatory variables in a hedonic regression analysis using transaction data and energy performance certificates data for 1,073 observations. Findings – Results indicate that better energy performance effects selling prices positively. Energy efficiency recommendations seem to have an impact on sale price; home buyers seem to require a larger “discount” for more complex types of measures. Research limitations/implications – The sample only includes houses in the Stockholm; so-called sustainable buildings have not been specifically studied; and the heating source has not been accounted for. Originality/value – The EU energy performance certificates provide new information and measure energy performance more exactly than many earlier (proxy) variables. This is one of the first studies to test the effect of this information, and the first one using Swedish data.

An interdisciplinary perspective on industrial energy efficiency

This paper combines engineering and social science approaches to enhance our understanding of industrial energy efficiency and broaden our perspective on policy making in Europe. Sustainable development demands new strategies, solutions, and policy-making approaches. Numerous studies of energy efficiency potential state that cost-effective energy efficiency technologies in industry are not always implemented for various reasons, such as lack of information, procedural impediments, and routines not favoring energy efficiency. Another reason for the efficiency gap is the existence of particular values, unsupportive of energy efficiency, in the dominant networks of a branch of trade. Analysis indicates that different sectors of rather closed communities have established their own tacit knowledge, perceived truths, and routines concerning energy efficiency measures. Actors in different industrial sectors highlight different barriers to energy efficiency and why cost-effective energy efficiency measures are not being implemented. The identified barriers can be problematized in relation to the social context to understand their existence and how to resolve them.

Life-cycle carbon and cost analysis of energy efficiency measures in new commercial buildings

Energy efficiency in new building construction has become a key target to lower nation-wide energy use. The goals of this paper are to estimate life-cycle energy savings, carbon emission reduction, and cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures in new commercial buildings using an integrated design approach, and estimate the implications from a cost on energy-based carbon emissions. A total of 576 energy simulations are run for 12 prototypical buildings in 16 cities, with 3 building designs for each building-location combination. Simulated energy consumption and building cost databases are used to determine the life-cycle cost-effectiveness and carbon emissions of each design. The results show conventional energy efficiency technologies can be used to decrease energy use in new commercial buildings by 20–30% on average and up to over 40% for some building types and locations. These reductions can often be done at negative life-cycle costs because the improved efficiencies allow the installation of smaller, cheaper HVAC equipment. These improvements not only save money and energy, but reduce a building’s carbon footprint by 16% on average. A cost on carbon emissions from energy use increases the return on energy efficiency investments because energy is more expensive, making some cost-ineffective projects economically feasible.

Barriers to energy efficiency improvement and decision-making behavior in Thai industry

The industrial sector is one of the main energy consuming sectors in Thailand and accounted for 36.7% of total energy consumption in 2005. The trend of rising energy prices and tougher competition increases the demand to improve energy efficiency in Thai industry. However, the existence of various barriers often hinders the realization of even some cost-effective energy efficiency measures. In an attempt to investigate key barriers to and drivers for energy efficiency improvement in Thai industry, this study found that the most important barrier expressed by both the textile and cement industries studied as well as experts interviewed is that the management is concerned about production and other matters rather than energy efficiency. Reducing product cost by reducing energy cost is found to be the main driver for energy efficiency investment. Using a conceptual industrial energy efficiency policy framework this study shows how various energy efficiency policies can affect the process of decision-making for and investment in energy efficiency in industry.

An energy efficient Swedish pulp and paper industry – exploring barriers to and driving forces for cost-effective energy efficiency investments

Despite the need for increased industrial energy efficiency, studies indicate that cost-effective energy efficiency measures are not always implemented, which is explained by the existence of barri ...

Barriers to and driving forces for energy efficiency in the non-energy intensive manufacturing industry in Sweden

The manufacturing industry is facing tougher competition which increases the demand to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures. However, studies have indicated that obvious cost-efficient measures are not always undertaken. This is explained by the existence of barriers to energy efficiency. The aim of this study is to investigate the existence and importance of different barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the Swedish non-energy intensive manufacturing industry. Results from this study highlight a number of factors that inhibit the degree of implementation, such as the cost and risk associated with production disruptions, lack of time and other priorities, lack of sub-metering in larger organizations, etc. The study also finds a number of drivers, such as the existence of people with real ambition and a long-term energy strategy at site level.

Carbon reduction in the real world: how the UK will surpass its Kyoto obligations

Carbon dioxide emissions from UK energy use have fallen by more than 20% over the last 30 years, and carbon intensity — carbon emissions per unit of GDP — has halved. These reductions have been achieved by a combination of decarbonisation of the energy system and substantial improvements in energy efficiency. Use of natural gas in power generation has been a big factor in recent years, but energy efficiency improvements in households and particularly industry have been more important over a longer period. Government policies designed primarily to address climate change have not been important contributors, until recently. Future reductions in emissions will require more proactive policies. However, they are possible without any economic difficulties, notably by adopting cost-effective energy efficiency measures, using new renewable energy sources and reducing dependence on private cars. These policies will improve economic efficiency. The new UK Climate Change Programme includes policies that combine regulation, investment, fiscal measures and other economic instruments. By working with the grain of other social, environmental and economic policies, they can achieve far more than a carbon tax alone, set at any politically acceptable level. Modelling the costs of emission reductions using a carbon tax as the only instrument would not only massively over-estimate costs, it would bear little resemblance to real world politics. The paper demonstrates that a more diverse set of policy instruments is likely to be an effective and politically acceptable approach in a mature industrial economy. It is concluded that the UK’s Kyoto target of a 12.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is not challenging. The UK Government’s target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% between 1990 and 2010 is also achievable. By 2010 per capita emissions from the UK will be well below 2.5 tC per year. Claims that some countries, notably the USA, could not reduce per capita emissions below 6 tC per year seem inconsistent with this experience.

Carbon reduction in the real world: how the UK will surpass its Kyoto obligations

Carbon dioxide emissions from UK energy use have fallen by more than 20% over the last 30 years, and carbon intensity—carbon emissions per unit of GDP—has halved. These reductions have been achieved by a combination of decarbonisation of the energy system and substantial improvements in energy efficiency. Use of natural gas in power generation has been a big factor in recent years, but energy efficiency improvements in households and particularly industry have been more important over a longer period. Government policies designed primarily to address climate change have not been important contributors, until recently. Future reductions in emissions will require more proactive policies. However, they are possible without any economic difficulties, notably by adopting cost-effective energy efficiency measures, using new renewable energy sources and reducing dependence on private cars. These policies will improve economic efficiency. The new UK Climate Change Programme includes policies that combine regulation, investment, fiscal measures and other economic instruments. By working with the grain of other social, environmental and economic policies, they can achieve far more than a carbon tax alone, set at any politically acceptable level. Modelling the costs of emission reductions using a carbon tax as the only instrument would not only massively over-estimate costs, it would bear little resemblance to real world politics. The paper demonstrates that a more diverse set of policy instruments is likely to be an effective and politically acceptable approach in a mature industrial economy. It is concluded that the UK's Kyoto target of a 12.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is not challenging. The UK Government's target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% between 1990 and 2010 is also achievable. By 2010 per capita emissions from the UK will be well below 2.5 tC per year. Claims that some countries, notably the USA, could not reduce per capita emissions below 6 tC per year seem inconsistent with this experience.

Potentials for energy efficiency improvement in the US cement industry

This paper reports on an in-depth analysis of the US cement industry, identifying cost-effective energy efficiency measures and potentials. Between 1970 and 1997, primary physical energy intensity for cement production (SIC 324) dropped 30%, from 7.9 GJ/t to 5.6 GJ/t, while specific carbon dioxide emissions due to fuel consumption and clinker calcination dropped 17%, from 0.29 tC/tonne to 0.24 tC/tonne. We examined 30 energy-efficient technologies and measures and estimated energy savings, carbon dioxide savings, investment costs, and operation and maintenance costs for each of the measures. We constructed an energy conservation supply curve for the US cement industry which found a total cost-effective energy saving of 11% of 1994 energy use for cement making and a saving of 5% of total 1994 carbon dioxide emissions. Assuming the increased production of blended cement, the technical potential for energy efficiency improvement would not change considerably. However, the cost-effective potential would increase to 18% of total energy use, and carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 16%. This demonstrates that the use of blended cements is a key cost-effective strategy for energy efficiency improvement and carbon dioxide emission reductions in the US cement industry.