Home Energy Efficiency Research Articles

The Influence of Energy Certification on Housing Sales Prices in the Province of Alicante (Spain)

This work examines the implementation of energy labelling by the residential real estate sector. First, it considers the interest by real estate sellers in not publishing energy certification information, and then, it quantifies the impact of the housing’s energy certification on the asking price. The results are compared with those obtained from other studies conducted in distinct European countries. The study’s final sample was collected, including information from 52,939 multi-family homes placed on the real estate market in the province of Alicante (Spain). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used, as well as an ordinary least squares regression model. This study highlights the fact that, in the current market, owners and sellers have no incentive to reveal the energy certification, since this permits them to sell homes with low energy ratings at prices similar to those of more energy efficient homes. In addition, it was found that homes with better energy ratings (letters A and B) are not sold at higher prices than homes with other rating letters, unlike the case of other European countries that were examined.

What did infrastructure ever do for us?

What did infrastructure ever do for us?

When Space Heating Becomes Digitalized: Investigating Competencies for Controlling Smart Home Technology in the Energy-Efficient Home

In the near future, renewable energy sources (RES) will make up an increasing share of energy production in the district heating grid, implying that utilities must enable energy flexibility in order to compensate for the intermittent nature of RES. Current initiatives rely on smart approaches, encouraging a flexible energy demand by integrating various demand-side-management technologies. While praised for their ‘smart’ capabilities, smart home technologies have also been criticized for not meeting their potential in terms of savings and flexibility. This paper examines space-heating practices in everyday life in 16 Danish households. The study relies on qualitative in-depth interviews and ‘show and tell’ tours within these homes. Results show how space-heating practices are reconfigured by embodied knowledge related to respectively space-heating and use of smart technology. This implies that occupants’ adaption to smart home technology is reconfigured by their previous experiences as well as the meanings they ascribed to their practices. By showing the different ways in which occupants ‘get to know’ smart home technology, results highlight forms of embodied knowledge which occupants habitually draw on when they heat their homes. Occupants learn and carry competences for conducting space heating throughout life, and interventions aimed at enabling a flexible energy demand need to consider this. As smart home technology is integrated in homes, interventions should consider embodied knowledge as part of occupants’ competences for controlling smart home technology, as this will impact the reconfiguration of (new) space heating practices.

Modelling of driving factors for energy efficiency in buildings using Best Worst Method

Rising cost of electricity tariff and climate change in urban habitat is a cause of concern globally. Energy has become a necessity of life for majority of the people in daily routine. A definite part of the household earnings is spent on energy needs like utility bills or as fuel for cooking. In middle-class residential households the use of energy efficiently will lead to conservation of energy and increase in financial gains. To make a residential home energy efficient the factors that leverage the cause of “Energy Efficiency” should be known. This research analyses the factors through a survey of 125 residential homes in a city neighbourhood of southern India. MCDM based Best Worst Method (BWM) is used for analysis of survey results. The results show that the five main factors that act as key drivers of energy efficiency in homes are: Motivation, Education and awareness, coercive factors, Occupant Behavioural and energy saving equipment in homes. Among the 15 subfactors, the top three ranking factors to save energy are: financial motivation, psychological behaviour and inspiration to save energy in homes. The result of this research work emphasizes the high weightage factors are responsible to drive energy efficiency in residential buildings. The practical applications of this research are also discussed.

An empirical study of purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances: the influence of knowledge of eco-labels and psychographic variables

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the antecedents of consumers’ purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered questionnaire has been used to gather data from the targeted representatives of the population. Quota based on age and convenience sampling techniques were used to select the participants of the study, as it is a suitable technique in situations where the possibility of getting a complete sampling frame is difficult. More than 73% of the population of Pakistan is aged below 34 years (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Based on this information, the current study has allocated more than 75% quota to consumers who are below 35 years.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that all antecedents have significant impact on consumers’ purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances. Environmental concern, green trust and products’ functional values are most influencing factors in the purchase of energy-efficient home appliances.Originality/valueThis study is related to energy-efficient home appliances in Pakistan. Systematic literature suggested the need to analyze the antecedents of energy-efficient appliances. This study helps the practitioners and marketers to understand consumers’ behavior regarding the purchase of energy-efficient home appliances.

Analysis of the Impact of Residential Property and Equipment on Building Energy Efficiency and Consumption—A Data Mining Approach

Human living could become very difficult due to a lack of energy. The household sector plays a significant role in energy consumption. Trying to optimize and achieve efficient energy consumption can lead to large-scale energy savings. The aim of this paper is to identify the equipment and property affecting energy efficiency and consumption in residential homes. For this purpose, a hybrid data-mining approach based on K-means algorithms and decision trees is presented. To analyze the approach, data is modeled once using the approach and then without it. A data set of residential homes of England and Wales is arranged in low, medium and high consumption clusters. The C5.0 algorithm is run on each cluster to extract factors affecting energy efficiency. The comparison of the modeling results, and also their accuracy, prove that the approach employed has the ability to extract the findings with greater accuracy and detail than in other cases. The installation of boilers, using cavity walls, and installing insulation could improve energy efficiency. Old homes and the usage of economy 7 electricity have an unfavorable effect on energy efficiency, but the approach shows that each cluster behaved differently in these factors related to energy efficiency and has unique results.

Application of the Co-heating test in Australian climates

Post construction evaluation of energy efficiency measures is not a mandatory requirement of Australia’s National Construction Code. Co-heating tests are one means of conducting post construction evaluation of a buildings’ thermal shell as a complete system. Australia is geographically large, and as such has many different climate zones. Using the Chenath thermal calculation engine, a simulation study was conducted, identifying where and when a Co-heating test can be applied in Australia and provide reliable results. The study compares results across 69 climate zones defined by the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) as well as four different calculation techniques to generate the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) and compares this with an estimated ‘true’ HTC. While the co-heating test is found to provide most reliable results when used in winter, and has a larger window of application in the southern parts of Australia, the test is shown to be accurate in some hotter climates further north. Most reliable results were attained using a two-stage regression analysis. This shows potential for the co-heating test to be applied in Australia.

The impact of building form on overheating control: a case study of Larch House

Amid recent concern about overheating in Passivhaus, this study investigates geometrical implication of façade design to alleviate overheating in new build energy-efficient homes in the UK. The study proposes self-shading façade design as a less conventional approach to passively protecting the house from the excessive solar gain in summer. The findings show that implementing an optimum angle slanted wall can moderate indoor temperature variations between day and night in summer and could potentially act as an effective shading device. The suggested tilted façade is compared alongside other conventional approaches, such as overhangs and reduced WWR, to compare their relative effectiveness in reducing overheating risk.

An empirical study of consumers intention to purchase energy efficient appliances

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical framework of consumers’ purchase intention of energy efficient home appliances.Design/methodology/approachNon-probability quota based on age and education and purposive sampling technique have been used to assess data collected by a questionnaire survey.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that consumers’ knowledge of eco-labels, environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness are the important predictors of purchase intention. However, the positive relationship between green trust and products’ functional value was found insignificant. It is believed that consumers’ are skeptical about products’ functional benefits.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study has presented a holistic approach to assess consumer purchase intention for energy-efficient home appliances, there are some limitations of the current study. First, this study has focused on consumer intention to purchase energy-efficient home appliances rather than actual purchase of appliances. Ajzen (1991) argued that intention is the accurate and immediate measure of actual, but gaps exist between intention and the actual behavior of the consumers (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). Consumers’ intentions may not always result in actual behavior. Thus, to expand research applicability, researchers should include actual behavior of consumers by conducting interviews or collecting data from the same consumers after an interval of three to six months. Second, the study has focused on consumers’ psychographic variables, there may be many other factors such as technological variables, government and pressure group influence and media impact on consumer intention to purchase energy-efficient home appliances. Future studies can integrate the impact of these potential variables on consumer purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances with the same model. The third limitation is related to the methodology of this study, the quantitative method has been used in this study. Future studies may use qualitative and mixed methods to better understand consumers’ inclination of purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances in Pakistan. Besides, a qualitative study will be helpful to explore new variables that are essential in the decision-making of consumers for the purchase of energy-efficient home appliances in Pakistan. Pakistan is a developing country where the majority of the people are belonging to the middle-class; there may be many other important factors that affect consumers’ purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances. Therefore, an in-depth qualitative study would be helpful to explore those variables in the context of a developing country.Practical implicationsEnergy consumption has posed serious threats to the sustainability of the environment and endangered the lives of many species across the globe. Environmental degradation due to unsustainable consumptions has provided ample opportunities to the marketers that led to the development of sustainable products such as energy-efficient home appliances. In this study, the antecedent of purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances includes attitude, functional values, perceived consumer effectiveness, consumers’ knowledge of eco-labels, environmental concern and green trust. Although researchers have extended TBP to predict consumers’ purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances, studies lack to provide a holistic view from consumers’ perspective. Consumers’ concern for the safety of the environment depicts consumers tendency to purchase environmentally friendly products and promote less hazardous products. Marketers should incorporate environmentally friendly benefits to the product that serve to attract maximum consumers and maintain harmony with the environment. Consumers’ knowledge of eco-labels, green trust and functional values are a vital construct that needs focus in term of the energy-efficient appliances purchase decision. Eco-labels are one of the emerging marketing tools that serve to guide consumers related to products environmentally friendly attributes and contribute to the acceptability of products. Marketers can use eco-labels to differentiate green products from conventional and establishes consumers’ trust in product performance.Originality/valueThis study is relevant to energy-efficient home appliances. Systematic literature of previous studies suggested the need to conduct and examine the antecedents of energy-efficient home appliances in developing markets. This research highlights that perceived consumer effectiveness is the most influencing factor affecting intention. The implications of this study would be helpful in understanding consumers’ behavior toward the purchase of green products in developing markets.

Empirical evaluation of the antecedents of energy-efficient home appliances: application of extended theory of planned behavior

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to predict the antecedents of consumers' purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances. This study incorporated two additional constructs (knowledge of eco-labels and knowledge of eco-labels) in the model of the theory of planned behavior. Consumers' enhanced trust for energy-efficient products is crucial to purchase intention. The second construct is consumers' knowledge of eco-labels. Knowledge of eco-labels would help to assess consumers' tendency toward environmental problems and intention to purchase energy-efficient home appliances.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a quantitative approach using a survey (questionnaire) method to collect data of respondents. Non-probability quota based on age and convenience sampling techniques were employed to select the participants of this study.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that consumer knowledge of eco-labels, green trust, subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavioral control have positive influence on purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances.Originality/valueEco-labels are served as a marketing tool to distinguish producer's products from others. Prior studies have only focused on consumers' general knowledge. This study helps marketers to understand and design strategies to generate more value for green consumers. This study also contributes to the literature on green marketing by employing the theory of planned behavior.

Silica Aerogel Thermal Insulation Coating as Commodity Usage

Silica aerogel-based thermal insulation coating (SA-coating) was prepared from a commercial acrylic binder. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effectiveness of SA-coating with the application in energy-efficient home design for temperature insulation purposes. The weather acceleration test and thermal insulation property of SA-coating were investigated and compared to the original commercial binder. The weather acceleration test of SA-coating showed equivalent weathering stability and robustness compared to the original binder. The thermal insulation property was performed from an in-lab setup, called temperature difference (TD) measurement. In a closed chamber, without air circulation, the surface temperature with SA-coating was reduced by as much as 26 degrees from 90°C to ∼64°C. More so, if TD measurement was performed in a ventilated area, the temperature can be reduced from 50°C to 36°C (room temperature was 31 °C). The thermal conductivity of the coating at different temperatures was also measured. The water contact angle measurements and the scanning electron micrographs showed that SA-coating can be made hydrophilic to hydrophobic by simple abrasion.

The wandering energy stars: The challenges of valuing energy efficiency in Australian housing

In the context of curbing greenhouse gas emissions to meet the ambitious but much-needed targets to limit global warming to reasonable levels, residential housing can play a significant role. By enhancing the energy efficiency of residential housing, emission reductions, reduced costs and better health and wellbeing of occupants may be achieved. Despite gradual improvements in home energy efficiency, homeowner engagement could be greatly enhanced by the demonstration of how energy efficiency and energy ratings can be reflected in residential property values. Ascertaining the value of energy efficiency may enable greater investment and potential for increased availability of finance for added energy efficiency options in new and existing housing. Extant research suggests a significant relationship between house values, rental prices and energy efficiency certifications, particularly where mandatory disclosure operates. However, limited research has examined residential valuers’ (appraisers) perspectives and practice considerations.This paper examines the challenges for valuers in identifying and considering energy efficiency initiatives and ratings on residential property value and the capacity of residential valuation professionals to incorporate energy efficiency into the valuation (appraisal) process.The research identified limited means available to valuers in Australia in identifying energy efficiency attributes and ratings; challenges in awareness, knowledge, and understanding of energy efficiency ratings; and, subsequently, limitations in consideration of initiatives and ratings in valuation. This research affirms findings of other Australian and international studies, suggesting mandatory disclosure and certification are essential if energy efficiency is to be considered by the market and reflected in residential valuation.

Leaving lights on – A conscious choice or wasted light? Use of indoor lighting in Swedish homes

Promoting resource- and energy-efficient home lighting through technology and behaviour change requires an understanding of how residents currently use lighting and what they want from it. However, users' needs and desires relating to lighting in homes are poorly understood, as research is still limited. This paper aims to provide a fuller picture of residents' experiences with their home lighting. Interviews about how residents perceive the character of lighting and luminaires and lighting use suggest that home lighting has nine capabilities: to enable vision; to facilitate visual tasks; to display objects; to send a message; to support a particular atmosphere; to shape the architectural space; to offer a visual aesthetic experience; to maintain or change rhythmicity; and to evoke memories. Secondary data confirmed five of them. The identified capabilities relate to behavioural goals, psychological wellbeing and social needs. We conclude that seemingly wasted light in people's homes, i.e. lights left on in unoccupied rooms, can serve a purpose for the residents, such as avoiding visual or aesthetic discomfort, making the home inviting, benefitting people outside and providing safety. Findings have implications for the further development of new lighting technologies and design, energy-saving campaigns targeting residents and for urban outdoor environments.

Behind the scenes: Why are energy efficient home appliances such a hard sell?

This paper wishes to add to the rich literature of studies exploring the reasons behind the energy efficiency gap. To this direction, it presents the results of a stated preference survey conducted on a representative sample of Greek households via computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) in the context of the “Consumer Energy Efficiency Decision making (CONSEED)” project. The survey was designed and conducted so as to reach every type of household and gather information on the factors influencing households’ energy efficiency choices. The emphasis was given on certain issues that previous studies identified as needing further research, such as the impact of EU labelling scheme on consumers’ decision-making, the connection between pro-environmental behaviour and willingness to invest in more energy-efficient appliances and the role of peer effects, misinformation about current electricity prices and imperfect understanding of energy operating costs on the energy efficiency gap. The findings of the survey are not an end-to-itself but a vehicle for behavioural research in energy efficient decisions. The data collected and analysed can be used to populate theoretical models regarding energy efficiency gap and determine the degree to which each factor contributes to the phenomenon. Moreover, they could help decision-makers in better understand the energy paradox, and, thus, could contribute to crafting better public policy responses that would maximise private and social benefits associated with the adoption of energy-efficient choices.

Observing energy rating stars through the Australian Consumer Law lens: How volume home builders’ advertising can fail consumers

Australia builds approximately 200,000 new homes per annum, which must meet minimum energy efficiency performance requirements. One common assessment measure is the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), in which homes are typically required to meet a 6 Star minimum. However, current advertising practices of some volume home builders are unclear as to what consumers will receive in terms of energy efficiency in their new home. This research examined the advertising practices of Australia's largest volume home builders via their organisation websites, to determine whether the advertising material and other information on their websites could breach section 18(1) of the Australian Consumer Law. The research uncovered instances of potential breaches through the use of misleading logos and language. Such representations generally implied a high performance standard is being achieved, or exceptional products are on offer – rather than simply achieving the regulatory minimum applicable to all new homes. The results indicate two primary policy implications: firstly, instead of being better informed, consumers are likely to be misled or deceived; and secondly, the use and effectiveness of the NatHERS logo is lessened through such conduct. This article provides recommendations to the Australian consumer regulator, the NatHERS administrator, and volume home builders.

How much and why are we willing to pay for energy-efficient homes? A stated preferences analysis in Barcelona

En la literatura, la evidencia empírica sobre las primas verdes para los hogares con eficiencia energética no proporciona las razones que producen tal incremento de precios. Este documento, utilizando encuestas de preferencias declaradas, explora si los hogares en Barcelona están dispuestos a pagar (WTP) por una mejora en la clasificación proveniente de los Certificados de Eficiencia Energética (EPC) y las razones que explican su variación. Los resultados sugieren que, en general, las personas desconocen el esquema EPC y tienden a confundir el rendimiento energético de los hogares con la calidad arquitectónica general. Dichas limitaciones reducen la WTP para hogares eficientes, mientras que otras percepciones como la comodidad y una mejor condición de salud asociada con el rendimiento energético parecen estar correlacionadas positivamente. Además, el análisis estratificado indica la existencia de sensibilidades divergentes asociadas con condiciones socioeconómicas. En general, plantea desafíos importantes para el diseño de políticas públicas dirigidas a fomentar la difusión de hogares con eficiencia energética. Los resultados de este documento implican desafíos importantes para la comunicación de la política de EPC en España, no solo porque la sociedad no es monolítica, tiene motivaciones divergentes cuando se apuesta por una vivienda eficiente, sino también porque la información superficial parece ser ineficiente para crear conciencia sobre la implicación del rendimiento energético de los edificios. En la literatura, l'evidència empírica sobre les primes verds per a les llars amb eficiència energètica no proporciona les raons que produeixen aquest increment de preus. Aquest document, utilitzant enquestes de preferències declarades, explora si les llars a Barcelona estan disposats a pagar (WTP) per una millora en la classificació provinent dels Certificats d'Eficiència Energètica (EPC) i les raons que expliquen la seva variació. Els resultats suggereixen que, en general, les persones desconeixen l'esquema EPC i tendeixen a confondre el rendiment energètic de les llars amb la qualitat arquitectònica general. Aquestes limitacions redueixen la WTP per a llars eficients, mentre que altres percepcions com la comoditat i una millor condició de salut associada amb el rendiment energètic semblen estar correlacionades positivament. A més, l'anàlisi estratificat indica l'existència de sensibilitats divergents associades amb condicions socioeconòmiques. En general, planteja reptes importants per al disseny de polítiques públiques dirigides a fomentar la difusió de llars amb eficiència energètica. Els resultats d'aquest document impliquen reptes importants per a la comunicació de la política d'EPC a Espanya, no només perquè la societat no és monolítica, té motivacions divergents quan s'aposta per un habitatge eficient, sinó també perquè la informació superficial sembla ser ineficient per a crear consciència sobre la implicació del rendiment energètic dels edificis.Paraules clau: Valoració contingent; valoració de béns immobles; eficiència energètica; certificat d'eficiència energètica In the literature, the empirical evidence on the green premium for energy-efficient homes does not provide the reasons that produce such price increment. This paper, using stated preferences surveys, explores whether households in Barcelona are willing to pay (WTP) for an improvement in the ranking coming from Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and the reasons explaining its variance. The results suggest that, in general, people are unaware of the EPC scheme, and tend to confound energy performance of homes with the overall architectonic quality. Such limitations reduce the WTP for efficient homes, while other perceptions such as comfort and an improved health condition associated with energy performance appear as positively correlated. Furthermore, the stratified analysis indicates the existence of divergent sensibilities associated with socioeconomic conditions. On the whole, it poses important challenges for the design of public policies aimed at fostering the diffusion of energy-efficient homes. The findings of this paper imply important challenges for the communication of the EPC policy in Spain, not only because society is not monolithic, having divergent motivations when bidding for efficient housing, but also because superficial information seems to be inefficient in creating awareness on the implication of the energy performance of buildings.

Estimating employment from energy-efficiency investments

We develop a methodology for estimating the number and types of jobs that would result from investments in energy efficiency in homes, businesses, and industry. The methodology involves the development of input-output (I-O) bills of goods that characterize how energy-efficiency funds would be spent across sectors of the economy. The methodology builds on and adds greater articulation to the research conducted in prior studies of U.S. energy-efficiency policies.•The first two steps involve estimating the magnitude of investments in energy-efficient technologies and systems required to produce a unit of energy consumption reduction, and then identifying how these investments are expensed across the broad investment categories, which creates the preliminary “bills of goods” for investments in energy efficiency in homes, businesses, and industry.•The third step involves soliciting feedback on the preliminary bills of goods from experts in delivering and evaluating energy-efficiency programs, and then making necessary modifications.•In the final step we apply the input-output coefficients representing the bills of goods to estimate the direct, indirect and induced employment per million dollars of investment in energy efficiency.

Social innovation in the shadow of policy failure: Energy efficiency in self-build housing

The United Kingdom has been a slow adopter of energy efficiency measures in domestic buildings. Ambitions to ensure that new homes are built to ‘zero carbon’ standards have been expressed by policy makers but subsequent targets have been abandoned. In the UK housing sector, the high costs of land, the stagnating delivery of affordable new-built homes, and market dominance by a handful of high-volume housebuilders limit progress towards lower carbon newbuild homes. Against this backdrop, the paper seeks to examine the emergence of a supposedly ‘alternative’ sub-sector. Inspired by pioneering initiatives in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, a handful of self-build projects have emerged in the UK. Through the analysis of two in depth case studies, Bath street in Edinburgh and Graven Hill in Oxfordshire, we find that self-build projects can not only deliver more diverse and bespoke homes, but also more energy efficiency. Our analysis therefore unpicks their success stories vis-à-vis the inefficiencies of speculative house building where the adoption of national policies on zero carbon homes has been resisted. Framing the emergence of these self-build projects in the UK as social innovation, we identify the physical, conceptual and affective spaces for system change that are opened up by our case studies. We subsequently reflect on the key roles played by intermediaries, including local authorities, in the potential facilitation and mainstreaming of self-build approaches to delivering more energy efficient homes.

Correction to: Retrofitting towards energy-efficient homes in European cold climates: a review

The original version of this paper was unfortunately published with an error in Fig. 3. The published figure includes excess layers, which negatively affects the readability of the figure. The correct figure is displayed below. The authors apologize for this error.

PENERAPAN INTERNET OF THINGS PADA SISTEM KONTROL PENERANGAN RUMAH BERBASIS WEB APPLICATION MENGGUNAKAN METODE LOGIKA FUZZY

The need for electrical energy in everyday life is so important, improper and uncontrolled use can result in waste. Efforts to create energy-efficient homes need to start from simple things such as the use of lights, often forgetting to turn off the light switch when going out of the house or problems, especially in setting the brightness of the house lights, fuzzy logic provides an alternative solution. Fuzzy logic is a smart method that is appropriate for mapping a parameter input space into an output space for the brightness adjustment action of a lamp to light dimly, medium and bright. Efforts that can be made to deal with the problems above certainly require an intelligent control system with smart methods such as fuzzy logic and can be controlled remotely in order to overcome the existing problems. One concept that is popular right now is the Internet of Things (IoT), the development of IoT is a concept that aims to expand the benefits of internet connectivity that is connected continuously. IoT has capabilities such as data sharing, remote control, and so on. In building a control system by applying the IoT concept, a platform that supports that concept is also needed, NodeMCU a microcontroller which is equipped with a wifi module for microcontroller communication to the internet, so that the microcontroller can be used to apply the IoT concept in controlling home lights remotely, such as turning on the remote and turn off and adjust the brightness of the home lights with the fuzzy logic method intelligence.