An energy transition is currently taking place in many European countries. Existing studies comparing countries’ energy transition pathways are limited in scope and lack a strong theoretical foundation. This thesis addresses the lack of theoretical framework-based approaches by applying a sectoral analysis framework, identifying the main factors facilitating or hindering the sustainable energy transition in several countries, and the significant differences between them.The research focused on four countries; the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom and was limited to the residential sector of the built environment. It included the three dominant housing types: social rental; private rental; and homeownership. Data was clustered along the four dimensions of the sectoral analysis framework, identifying: (1) actors, interactions & networks; (2) the institutional or legal framework; (3) the technological framework; and (4) market demand. The same process was repeated for each of the countries, forming a detailed overview about their chosen energy transition pathways. A number of interviews were conducted to gain further insight into country-specific factors.With respect to actors, interactions and networks, this study has found that strong ties and cooperation between ministries and departments is an important factor facilitating policy success, with departmental fragmentation or competition posing a significant barrier. In terms of the institutional framework policy stability, clear targets and long-term policy framework are all factors for policy success. Conversely, frequent changes to existing policies, non-binding goals and the absence of a long-term framework are all seen as barriers for a sustainable energy transition. Looking at the technological regime, this study found countries with active support for renewable energy technologies have a higher share of renewable energy than countries where the choice of technologies is largely market-based. Past technological choices and existing energy-infrastructure were found to influence transition pathways and can be both a positive or negative factor. Lastly, with respect to market demand, the existence of a standardised housing stock was found to be a potentially significant factor for the upscaling of innovative initiatives. The existence of a large and fragmented (private) rental sector and high interest rates on financing products were found to be further barriers for the energy transition in the residential sector.This thesis has identified obstacles matching those in previous studies and introduced a number of factors facilitating policy success. It has made a first step in overcoming the lack in theoretical framework-based approaches in energy transition analysis future studies can build on.

This thesis is an investigation of why and how homeowners decide to renovate their homes. Energy efficient renovations are of particular interest given their potential contribution to public policy goals including greenhouse gas emission reduction. Policies seeking to improve energy efficiency in existing homes have to influence homeowners’ decisions. This requires a psychologically and behaviourally realistic understanding of the renovation decision process. Different research traditions offer competing models. These are tested through a series of hypotheses on the form and content of the renovation decision. The empirical dataset used combines both stated and revealed preference data. 809 homeowners in British Columbia were surveyed at three different cross-sections of the renovation decision process. The sample included both energy efficient (e.g., windows, insulation) and amenity renovators (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms), and was broadly representative of the population of renovating homeowners in British Columbia. Survey responses were calibrated using actual energy consumption data, and a supplementary survey of realtors. Calibration allowed homeowners’ expectations of the financial costs and benefits of renovating to be evaluated. Firstly, sampled homeowners systematically over-estimated their energy costs. Secondly, these estimates were subject to common information processing and recall biases. Thirdly, even homeowners in the middle of energy efficient renovations had expectations of capital costs, energy cost savings, and property value impacts that were largely unknown or unreliable. More generally, sampled homeowners lacked the basic knowledge necessary to appraise energy efficient renovations as financial investments. Homeowners’ motivations for renovating were more likely to be emotional and aesthetic in the case of amenities, but related to functional outcomes like thermal comfort in the case of energy efficiency. Social norms were influential in both cases but were underreported by homeowners. This was consistent with rationalisation biases which help individuals maintain self-esteem by emphasizing instrumental explanations for their actions. This psychologically realistic characterisation of the renovation decision suggests a range of design criteria for policy, and questions the effectiveness of narrowly-targeted information and incentive policies in their current form. However, policy implications should be generalised with caution given the low energy price and appreciating real estate market characteristics of the study region.

This thesis is an investigation of why and how homeowners decide to renovate their homes. Energy efficient renovations are of particular interest given their potential contribution to public policy goals including greenhouse gas emission reduction. Policies seeking to improve energy efficiency in existing homes have to influence homeowners’ decisions. This requires a psychologically and behaviourally realistic understanding of the renovation decision process. Different research traditions offer competing models. These are tested through a series of hypotheses on the form and content of the renovation decision. The empirical dataset used combines both stated and revealed preference data. 809 homeowners in British Columbia were surveyed at three different cross-sections of the renovation decision process. The sample included both energy efficient (e.g., windows, insulation) and amenity renovators (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms), and was broadly representative of the population of renovating homeowners in British Columbia. Survey responses were calibrated using actual energy consumption data, and a supplementary survey of realtors. Calibration allowed homeowners’ expectations of the financial costs and benefits of renovating to be evaluated. Firstly, sampled homeowners systematically over-estimated their energy costs. Secondly, these estimates were subject to common information processing and recall biases. Thirdly, even homeowners in the middle of energy efficient renovations had expectations of capital costs, energy cost savings, and property value impacts that were largely unknown or unreliable. More generally, sampled homeowners lacked the basic knowledge necessary to appraise energy efficient renovations as financial investments. Homeowners’ motivations for renovating were more likely to be emotional and aesthetic in the case of amenities, but related to functional outcomes like thermal comfort in the case of energy efficiency. Social norms were influential in both cases but were underreported by homeowners. This was consistent with rationalisation biases which help individuals maintain self-esteem by emphasizing instrumental explanations for their actions. This psychologically realistic characterisation of the renovation decision suggests a range of design criteria for policy, and questions the effectiveness of narrowly-targeted information and incentive policies in their current form. However, policy implications should be generalised with caution given the low energy price and appreciating real estate market characteristics of the study region.

This thesis is an investigation of why and how homeowners decide to renovate their homes. Energy efficient renovations are of particular interest given their potential contribution to public policy goals including greenhouse gas emission reduction. Policies seeking to improve energy efficiency in existing homes have to influence homeowners’ decisions. This requires a psychologically and behaviourally realistic understanding of the renovation decision process. Different research traditions offer competing models. These are tested through a series of hypotheses on the form and content of the renovation decision. The empirical dataset used combines both stated and revealed preference data. 809 homeowners in British Columbia were surveyed at three different cross-sections of the renovation decision process. The sample included both energy efficient (e.g., windows, insulation) and amenity renovators (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms), and was broadly representative of the population of renovating homeowners in British Columbia. Survey responses were calibrated using actual energy consumption data, and a supplementary survey of realtors. Calibration allowed homeowners’ expectations of the financial costs and benefits of renovating to be evaluated. Firstly, sampled homeowners systematically over-estimated their energy costs. Secondly, these estimates were subject to common information processing and recall biases. Thirdly, even homeowners in the middle of energy efficient renovations had expectations of capital costs, energy cost savings, and property value impacts that were largely unknown or unreliable. More generally, sampled homeowners lacked the basic knowledge necessary to appraise energy efficient renovations as financial investments. Homeowners’ motivations for renovating were more likely to be emotional and aesthetic in the case of amenities, but related to functional outcomes like thermal comfort in the case of energy efficiency. Social norms were influential in both cases but were underreported by homeowners. This was consistent with rationalisation biases which help individuals maintain self-esteem by emphasizing instrumental explanations for their actions. This psychologically realistic characterisation of the renovation decision suggests a range of design criteria for policy, and questions the effectiveness of narrowly-targeted information and incentive policies in their current form. However, policy implications should be generalised with caution given the low energy price and appreciating real estate market characteristics of the study region. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate

This research considers the motivating factors behind energy use in the residential sector, which in 2011 accounted for more than 26% of overall energy use in the UK. The study took a mixed method approach and considered case studies in both the UK and Australia, two countries with very different energy regimes. UK case studies were analysed using predictive energy modelling, quantitative assessment of actual energy use and thermal comfort, and qualitative interview and focus group assessment of individual motivation around energy use. The Australian case studies were assessed qualitatively and their attitudes compared to the UK core group. Additional perspectives were gained through interviews with UK landlords, a large environmental group, a senior politician, and two senior policymakers from a large energy company. The investigation assesses the implied importance of the key strands developed from previous research in instigating changes in behaviour amongst occupants. These include psychological, social, financial, educational and regulatory factors. In particular, it looks at the ineffectiveness of the Green Deal on energy behaviour in the residential sector. The research offers a reasoned explanation as to why it is important to record predictive, actual, and intended behaviour with regard to energy use. The study concludes that a variety of incentives are necessary to encourage behaviour change, and that the complexity of occupant behaviour makes it difficult to develop a single policy to encourage more sustainable energy use. There is sometimes a disconnect between intention and behaviour. However, there seems to be a certain commonality among the occupants, in that their behaviour around energy is often other than predicted by conventional economics and more likely to incorporate predictions from behavioural economics. This is recognised by the case study participants in both the UK and Australia, and they largely agree on the beneficial role of government in regulating them and "nudging" them in the right direction with regard to influencing their motivations around energy use. Financial incentives are also a key driver in motivating residents to use energy more sustainably, but they need to be carefully aligned to suit a wide range of individuals. Another issue that became clear in the research is that policy focusing purely on energy efficiency can be ineffective, if the policy goal is to mitigate the effects of climate change. The rebound effect is likely to result in a lower demand for residential energy transferring to increased demand for energy elsewhere in the economy. The study recommends that policy should focus on sustainable energy use, using financial and other mechanisms to discourage the use of fossil fuels.

Peak demand is an issue in power supply system when demand exceeds the available capacity. Continuous growth in peak demand increases the risk of power failures, and increases the marginal cost of supply. The contribution of the residential sector to the system peak is quite substantial and has been a subject of discussion internationally. For example, a study done in New Zealand in 2007 attributed about half of system peak load to the residential sector. International research has attributed a significant influence of human behaviour on households energy use. “Demand Response” is a demand side management tool aimed at achieving peak energy demand reduction by eliciting behaviour change. It encompasses energy needs analysis, information provision to customers, behaviour induction, smart metering, and new signalling and feedback concepts. Demand response is far advanced in the industrial and commercial demand sectors. In the residential sector, information barriers and a lack of proper understanding of consumers’ behaviour have impeded the development of effective response strategies and new enabling technologies in the sector. To date, efforts to understanding residential sector behaviour for the purpose of peak demand analysis has been based on pricing mechanism. However, not much is known about the significance of other factors in influencing household customers’ peak electricity demand behaviour. There is a tremendous amount of data that can be analyzed and fed back to the user to influence behaviour. These may include information about energy shortages, supply security and environmental concerns during the peak hours. This research is intended to begin the process of understanding the importance of some of these factors in the arena of peak energy consumption behaviour. Using stated preference survey and focus group discussions, information about household customers’ energy use activities during winter morning and evening peak hours was collected. Data about how customers would modify their usage behaviour when they receive enhanced supply constraint information was also collected. The thesis further explores households’ customer demand response motivation with respect to three factors: cost (price), environment (CO2-intensity) and security (risk of black-outs). Householders were first informed about the relationship between these factors and peak demand. Their responses were analyzed as multi-mode motivation to energy use behaviour change. Overall, the findings suggest that, household customers would be willing to reduce their peak electricity demand when they are given clear and enhanced information. In terms of motivation to reduce demand the results show customers response to the security factor to be on par with the price factor. The Environmental factor also produced a strong response; nearly two-thirds of that of price or security. A generic modelling methodology was developed to estimate the impact of households’ activity demand response on the load curve of the utility using a combination of published literature reviews and resources, and own research work. This modelling methodology was applied in a case study in Halswell, a small neighbourhood in Christchurch, New Zealand, with approximately 400 households. The results show that a program to develop the necessary technology and provide credible information and understandable signals about risks and consequences of peak demand could provide up to about 13% voluntary demand reduction during the morning peak hours and 8% during the evening peak hours.

The study uses Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) as a method to analyse the economicand environmental impact of carbon dioxide (CO2e) emission abatement projects in theCanadian residential sector. It includes the more traditional environmental andeconomic criteria, yet it incorporates a behavioural component to the analysis. Adetailed account of the environmental specifications, emission reductions, and economicconsiderations of 11 abatement projects are used as input for the CEA. In addition,behavioural variables, such as disposable income, home ownership, and home repairskills, are taken into account to complement the study.The results indicate that the implementation of several of these carbon abatementprojects, such as insulating hot water pipes, replacing incandescent light bulbs,installing a programmable thermostat, etc. can bring about large emission reductionstogether with a net economic benefit, and in most cases, without altering the levels ofcomfort. This method can serve as a template for the evaluation of other related projectswithin the climate change mitigation context in Canada and in other countries, in anattempt to increase adoption rates of such projects.

Worldwide, the residential sector is a major consumer of energy. Both the rate at which we consume energy and our use of non-renewable energy resources have come under pressure to change. These changes may occur to some extent by conservation techniques. However, due to living standard expectations, these changes will primarily rely on technology. Many technological opportunities exist to reduce the conventional energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the residential sector, such as: improving energy efficiency, introducing alternative energy conversion technologies, and increasing the use of renewable energy resources. The accurate estimate of the impact that a new technology has on residential sector energy consumption and GHG emissions requires a versatile, reliable, detailed, and high-resolution analytical model. Such models account for the wide range of climate, energy supply, and housing stock characteristics, and are useful for decision makers to evaluate and parametrically compare a wide range of energy efficiency measures and technology strategies when applied to the residential sector. This dissertation presents the development of a new energy consumption and GHG emissions model of the Canadian residential sector. This new model is detailed with regard to the housing stock, comprehensive with regard to the treatment of end-uses (including thermodynamic behaviour and occupant behaviour), and possesses the capability, resolution, and accuracy to assess the impact upon energy consumption and GHG emissions due to the application of alternative and renewable energy technologies to the residential sector. The new model is titled the Canadian Hybrid Residential End-Use Energy and GHG Emissions Model (CHREM). The CHREM advances the state-of-the-art of residential sector energy consumption and GHG emissions modeling by three principal contributions: i) a database of 16,952 unique house descriptions of thermal envelope and energy conversion system information that statistically represent the Canadian housing stock; ii) a “hybrid” modeling approach that integrates the bottom-up statistical and engineering modeling methods to account for occupant behaviour, and provide the capacity to model alternative and renewable energy technologies, such as solar energy and energy storage systems; and iii) a method for the accumulation and treatment of energy and GHG emissions results.

En France, les études sur les déterminants des investissements économiseurs d’énergie dans le résidentiel sont encore relativement rares même si ce secteur représente un gisement important d’économies d’énergie.Dans cette thèse, l’objectif est d’isoler les déterminants de l’investissement en efficacité énergétique dans le secteur résidentiel afin de fournir des recommandations de politiques publiques. Nous souhaitons étudier l’effet des politiques actuelles mais aussi potentielles qui visent à stimuler l’adoption d’équipements économiseurs d’énergie. Cette thèse est divisée en quatre chapitres. Dans un premier chapitre, l’objectif principal est d’analyser les dépenses en rénovation des ménages en faisant une distinction entre les travaux en efficacité énergétiques (d’isolation et de remplacement deséquipements) et les travaux en réparation en utilisant une approche économétrique. Dans un deuxième chapitre, nous cherchons à comprendre la décision d’investir en efficacité énergétique lorsqu’il existe des incitations divergentes (cas du propriétaire / locataire). Dans un troisième chapitre, nous étudions la décision d’investir dans des équipements économiseurs d’énergie dans un équilibre général en tenant compte de l’irréversibilité et de l’incertitude sur les prix de l’énergie et sur le rendement du revenu. Finalement, le quatrième chapitre évalue, à l’aide d’un modèle de simulation, l’effet des politiques publiques sur la décision d’investir. Nous modélisons la consommation d’énergie et les émissions de gaz à effet de serre, la décision d’investir dans des rénovations en efficacité énergétique et la dynamique du parc de logements. / In France, studies on energy-saving investments for residential buildings are still relatively rare even if this sector exhibits a high potential for energy-savings. In this PhD dissertation, the aim is to isolate the determinants of energy efficient investments in the residential sector in France in order to provide some policy recommendations. We also want to study the effect of current and potential public policies designed to trigger retrofit investments.The dissertation consists in four chapters. In the first essay, our main objective is to analyze household’s expenditures in renovation works by distinguishing energy efficiency works (insulation works and equipment replacement works) and reparation works using an econometric approach. In the second essay, we seek to understand the home renovation decision of households in a theoretical model in which there exist split incentives (landlord/tenant case). In the third essay, we study the decision to invest in energy efficiency by taking into account irreversibility and uncertainties on energy prices and on income return in a general equilibrium framework. Finally, the fourth essay assesses the effect of public policy on the decision to invest using an empirical approach.We model energy consumption and GHG emissions, the decision to invest in energy-saving renovations and the dynamics of the housing stock.

Interest has been growing in the interaction of various power demand transformations, such as demand side management (DSM) and voltage control, with the power demand. Initial studies have highlighted the need for a better understanding of the power demand of low voltage (LV) residential networks. Furthermore, it is expected that future alteration of the residential appliance mixture, because of the advances in technology, will have an impact on both the demand curve as well as the electrical characteristics. This thesis presents a study of the impact of current and future household load on the power demand curve and the network operation. In order to achieve this, a bottom-up load modelling tool was developed to create LV detailed demand profiles that include not only the active and reactive power demand, but their electrical characteristics as well. The methodology uses a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to generate residential LV demand profiles taking into account the user activity and behaviour to represent UK population. An appliance database has also been created which corresponds to the UK residential appliance mixture in order to calculate more accurately the power demand. The main advantages of the approach presented here are the flexibility in altering the type and number of the appliances that populate a household and how easily it can be adapted to a different population, location and climate. The tool is used to investigate the impact of scenarios that simulate future load replacement and the network behaviour under certain methods of demand control, implementation of DSM and control of voltage on the secondary of the LV transformer. The algorithm that was developed to apply the DSM actions on the power demand focused on the management of individual loads. The drivers used in this approach were the financial and environmental benefit of customers and the increase in the quality of the network operation. The control of the voltage as a method for power reduction takes into account the voltage dependence of the demand. The primary target is to quantify the benefits of this strategy either in combination with DSM for higher power reduction during the peak hours or on the current network as a quicker, easier and less expensive alternative to DSM. The study shows that there is a significant power reduction in both cases which is dependent on the time of day and not constant as expected from the literature. The results show that there are significant differences between current and future load demand characteristics that would be very difficult to acquire without the modelling technique presented. The alternative solution would require extensive local load and network modifications and a long period of expensive tests and measurements in the field.