Barriers to Energy Efficiency: Theoretical Baseline, Previous Research, and Methodological Approaches

In this chapter, we will discuss earlier research into the often acknowledged “energy efficiency gap.” This concept refers to the assumption that though technologies, methods, and processes exist for reducing energy use in industry, barriers hinder their implementation. To reduce the energy efficiency gap, researchers have defined and analyzed barriers identified in industry. Studies classify these barriers in various ways; here, we will discuss a categorization of these barriers as market failure, nonmarket failure, behavioral, and organizational barriers. This chapter also deals with the major research design approaches used in barrier research and cites examples from studies of barriers. We also believe that structural barriers, unrelated to the site level, as well as energy services must be considered when discussing the energy efficiency gap and how to resolve the gap.

[1]  P. Stern.  What psychology knows about energy conservation. , 1992 .

[2]  H. Simon,et al.  Models of Man. , 1957 .

[3]  R. Howarth,et al.  ‘Normal’ markets, market imperfections and energy efficiency , 1994 .

[4]  J. Schleich,et al.  Beyond case studies: Barriers to energy efficiency in commerce and the services sector , 2008 .

[5]  Patrik Thollander,et al.  An interdisciplinary perspective on industrial energy efficiency , 2010 .

[6]  Bertoldi Paolo,et al.  Will Emission Trading Promote End-use Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects , 2005 .

[7]  Joachim Schleich,et al.  The Economics Of Energy Efficiency: Barriers to Cost-Effective Investment , 2004 .

[8]  E. Worrell,et al.  Barriers to energy efficiency in industrial bottom-up energy demand models—A review , 2011 .

[9]  Patrik Thollander,et al.  Energy policies for increased industrial energy efficiency: Evaluation of a local energy programme for manufacturing SMEs , 2007 .

[10]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[11]  Joachim Schleich,et al.  Do energy audits help reduce barriers to energy efficiency? An empirical analysis for Germany , 2004 .

[12]  Patrik Thollander,et al.  Barriers to and driving forces for energy efficiency in the non-energy intensive manufacturing industry in Sweden , 2006 .

[13]  E. Sardianou.  Barriers to industrial energy efficiency investments in Greece , 2008 .

[14]  Elliot Aronson,et al.  Energy use: the human dimension , 1986 .

[15]  Martin Kumar Patel,et al.  The non-energy intensive manufacturing sector.: An energy analysis relating to the Netherlands , 2005 .

[16]  Ronald J. Sutherland,et al.  The economics of energy conservation policy , 1996 .

[17]  L. Schipper,et al.  Overcoming social and institutional barriers to energy conservation , 1980 .

[18]  Stephen J. DeCanio,et al.  Barriers within firms to energy-efficient investments , 1993 .

[19]  Edelgard Gruber,et al.  Promoting energy conservation in small and medium-sized companies , 1991 .

[20]  Andrea Trianni,et al.  Dealing with barriers to energy efficiency and SMEs: Some empirical evidences , 2012 .

[21]  Tomohiko Sakao,et al.  Energy services in industry – an interdisciplinary approach with engineering and social science aspects , 2012 .

[22]  Lukas Weber,et al.  Some reflections on barriers to the efficient use of energy , 1997 .

[23]  Elizabeth Shove,et al.  Gaps, barriers and conceptual chasms : theories of technology transfer and energy in buildings , 1998 .

[24]  Louise Trygg,et al.  Industrial DSM in a deregulated European electricity market--a case study of 11 plants in Sweden , 2005 .

[25]  Patrik Thollander,et al.  Barriers to and drivers for energy efficiency in the Swedish foundry industry , 2007 .

[26]  P. Nijkamp,et al.  Energy Saving by Firms, Decision-Making, Barriers and Policies , 2001 .

[27]  Christoph Menke,et al.  Barriers to energy efficiency improvement and decision-making behavior in Thai industry , 2010 .

[28]  Hard habits to break energy conservation patterns in Sweden , 1993 .

[29]  Peter B. Cebon,et al.  'Twixt cup and lip organizational behaviour, technical prediction and conservation practice , 1992 .

[30]  Marilyn A Brown.  Market failures and barriers as a basis for clean energy policies , 2001 .

[31]  Stafford Beer,et al.  Brain of the Firm: The Managerial Cybernetics of Organization , 1972 .

[32]  Patrik Thollander,et al.  Towards Increased Energy Efficiency in Industry - A Manager’s Perspective , 2011 .

[33]  A. Bryman.  Social Research Methods , 2001 .

[34]  A. Jaffe,et al.  The energy-efficiency gap What does it mean? , 1994 .

[35]  Mikael Ottosson,et al.  Energy management practices in Swedish energy-intensive industries , 2010 .

[36]  Marilyn A Brown,et al.  Closing the efficiency gap: barriers to the efficient use of energy , 1990 .

[37]  L. G. Hein,et al.  Transaction costs of energy efficiency improvement , 1995 .