Emerging evaluation issues: persistence, behavior, rebound, and policy

In this paper, we focus on a select group of technical and policy issues, which are currently important and/or are expected to become more critical in the coming years. The first set of technical issues deals with the evaluation of (1) persistence, (2) behavior and behavior change, and (3) rebound. We provide an overview of the importance of these issues, discuss key data collection and analytical challenges involved in evaluating them, and identify some recent methodological advances that have been made in these areas. These technical issues are becoming more important as energy efficiency and demand side management are increasingly being relied upon as a means of achieving long-term energy resource and environmental objectives. The second set of policy issues deals with (1) the evaluation of energy efficiency at the “policy” rather than the “program” level, (2) the use of “top-down” rather than “bottom-up” evaluation of energy efficiency programs and policies, and (3) closing the loop between evaluators and implementers. We provide an overview of the importance of these issues, particularly as seen by policymakers at the state, federal, and international levels.