Fraunhofer-Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung ISI

Filters

14
8 6
Reset filters

Settings
Now showing 1 - 10 of 14
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Are economic principles a driver or a barrier for energy efficiency and climate policy?

2021 , Braungardt, Sibylle , Schumacher, Katja , Bürger, Veit , Keimeyer, Friedhelm , Quack, Dietlinde , Wolff, Franziska , Aydemir, Ali , Lünenbürger, Benjamin

Economic principles are at the heart of key policies addressing or affecting energy efficiency. Minimum energy performance standards are typically based on an economic efficiency principle, where the ambition of the minimum requirements depends on economic costs and benefits. Examples from different governance levels include the least-life-cycle-costs approach in the EU Eco-design Directive, the cost-optimality approach in the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the German building codes, where the requirement for micro-level cost efficiency acts as barrier for setting more ambitious standards. Also, some public procurement approaches are based on economic principles, where requirements to include life-cycle costs and/or external environmental costs can provide a driver for the uptake of energy efficiency technologies. In view of the fundamental role of energy efficiency policy for reaching climate targets, this article addresses the question how innovative approaches to use economic principles in policy formulation can foster the deployment of energy efficiency solutions. To this end, we analyse different approaches for using economic principles in minimum energy performance standards and in public procurement processes, including the recently introduced requirement to consider the costs of climate action in Federal procurement processes specified in the German Federal Climate Change Act. We derive recommendations on how to use economic principles in policy formulation as a driver rather than a barrier for the deployment of energy efficiency solutions.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Getting to the top floor: Towards policy options to address the energy saving potentials of lifts

2019 , Hirzel, Simon , Durand, Antoine , Fong, Joao , Rohde, Clemens , Bagheri, Mahsa

Lifts are nowadays considered an essential part of nearly all larger new buildings. They increase comfort and make buildings accessible to handicapped and elderly people. Due to their longevity, lifts determine the energy demand of buildings in the long run. While a considerable amount of lifts has been installed in the last decades, the bulk of them is considerably older. Some installations, though partially upgraded, still even date back to before the mid of last century. The aim of this paper is to further investigate how energy efficiency of lifts is currently addressed by European policy-making and to discuss how policy options on lifts might contribute to achieving energy savings for these installations. To underpin the analysis, a quantitative stock model for lifts is elaborated for this paper. Based on this model, different policy scenarios are discussed to analyse their potential impact on the energy consumption of lifts. The stock model indicates that there are currently approximately 4.6 million lifts in operation in the EU-28 consuming in total about 18.9 TWh of electricity each year. Due to gradual replacements of inefficient older lifts and technological progress, this consumption is expected to decline to 10.4 TWh until 2050. Policy options for new lifts could help to lead to a further reduction in electricity demand of about 2.3 TWh. These options could be based on the inclusion of lifts in the list of technical equipment in the next revision of the EPBD, by further investigating on implementing measures within the Ecodesign process and by considering a European energy label for lifts.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Less hot air for a less hot climate: Evaluating the German waste heat reduction programme

2018 , Voswinkel, Fabian , Grahl, Andrea , Rohde, Clemens

The German industry sector amounts to almost one third of final energy consumption and shows large potentials for energy efficiency. Research has shown that waste heat reduction and utilisation bears great savings potential. Hence, one of the more large-scale programmes is the waste heat programme for subsidised credit financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and administered by the development bank KfW. It is open for companies of any size with a special support scheme for SMEs.To successfully adapt the programme to changing conditions, thorough evaluation is imperative. This paper draws on primary data from the evaluation of the programme. It gives insight both into individual waste heat concepts, as well as into the impact on macro-level emissions reduction targets. The methodology for the impact evaluation is thoroughly described and applied on evaluation results. Policies are structured according to a line of priorities starting with waste heat avoidance. The remaining waste heat should then be used according to the waste heat cascade: 1. direct integration of waste heat into processes 2. integration of waste heat into other operating processes 3. external utilisation, and 4. generation of electricity from waste heat. The effectiveness of waste heat utilisation depends on numerous influencing factors such as the quantity of waste heat, temperature level and time availability. In the evaluation, waste heat concepts showed to be very heterogeneous in structure and quality. Surveyed administrative staff stated that stricter requirements for the structure standardisation of the presented concepts would help to streamline the application process, which would reduce waiting times and reduce barriers for companies to participate. Target achievement analysis concludes that with a constant number and structure of participant companies, the target of yearly savings of 1 million tonnes of CO2-eq. until 2020 can be achieved with an exceedance of 90 %. While free-rider effects are an issue in such a large-scale programme, survey results show an increased awareness for energy efficiency pointing towards the existence of positive spill-over effects into further investments inside or outside of the company.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Chances for changes - tailoring energy-efficiency measures to target groups

2016 , Wohlfarth, Katharina , Eichhammer, Wolfgang , Schlomann, Barbara , Worrell, Ernst

In energy policies contributing to the energy transition, the improvement of energy efficiency in industrial companies plays a crucial role. Although significant economic potentials have been identified, the concerned actors are still struggling to realise them fully. To support the implementation of energy efficiency measures by policies, a deeper understanding of the barriers affecting different kinds of companies is necessary in order to be able to better match the options to their needs and requirements. This paper considers companies' characteristics and individual barriers to draw conclusions on energy efficiency policies and specific recommendations on EEMs (energy efficiency measures). The paper thus designs a compromise for energy efficiency policy between high administrative effort for designing individual solutions for companies and too generic approaches which are not tackling the specific barriers of companies with certain characteristics. Our analysis is based on monitoring data of two programmes in Germany, the Learning Energy Efficiency Networks LEEN, focusing on large (LE) and small/medium-sized companies (SME), as well as the KfW programme ""Energieberatung Mittelstand"" (energy consulting SME), focusing more on microcompanies (MC). These two programmes support energy audits and company networking, and assess implemented energy efficiency measures for SME. Based on factor and regression analysis, we found that financial barriers were the most prevalent, but there was no general correlation with company size. Smaller companies usually conduct energy audits less often, even though information is a precondition for good decision making rather than simply providing financial means which may not be taken up adequately by companies. Reasoning indecision making plays a role for the implementation of measures, especially in SME where expenses are a crucial criterion. Thus financial policy instruments should aim at promoting more long-term decision making. Lack of information combined with unfavourable reasoning in decision making might impede the adoption of profitable measures. Motivational barriers have a stronger influence in LE, especially influenced by the expected organizational effort. Reducing transaction costs by delivering the necessary information can increase the willingness to invest greater efforts in energy efficiency measures. The number of implemented measures is related to company size, as well as the choice of specific measures, while there were differences between SME and LE and between SME and MC.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Integrating discrete choice experiments and bottom-up energy demand models to investigate the long-term adoption of electrical appliances in response to energy efficiency policies

2021 , Mandel, Tim , Brugger, Heike , Guetlein, Marie-Charlotte , Schleich, Joachim

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Gotta catch 'em all - catches to evaluating heterogeneous energy efficiency programmes

2019 , Voswinkel, Fabian

Think about policies! When do you consider policies successful? Ideally, successful polices strive to influence something in an efficient and effective manner to reach a defined goal. However, when it comes to asking about the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, one challenge is well known: How to verify whether these conditions are met? The answer is good evaluation practice. The German Energy Efficiency Fund, a special budget of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), finances more than twenty national programmes to support energy efficiency in private businesses, households and the public sector. The heterogeneity of the programmes ranging from energy savings check-ups for households to large-scale financial support programmes for energy efficient technologies in industry makes evaluation even more challenging. For evaluating the Fund in its entirety, a way had to be found to catch them all and present them in a harmonised way. Therefore, an evaluation system, which encompasses a definition of indicators, savings metrics, effects and additional assumptions was developed and applied. This paper provides an introduction to the evaluation methodology. It focuses on practical catches for adequately covering the wide range of programmes. A major catch that lies within a uniform methodology for heterogeneous programmes is the interpretation of results. While using indicators to compare evaluation results across different programmes sounds appealingly simple, direct conclusions are often misleading. The success of a programme is very individual and an equal value of e.g. savings per Euro of funding does not necessarily mean that two programmes are equally successful. Detailed examples for such catches from the up-do-date evaluation of the Energy Efficiency Fund are presented in this paper and suggestions are made for avoiding premature conclusions from multi-programme evaluations.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Comparing energy efficiency scoreboard methodologies and results

2017 , Eichhammer, Wolfgang , Vaidyanathan, Shruti , Kelly, Meegan , Schlomann, Barbara

We carry out in this paper a comparison of the methodologies and results of Energy Efficiency Scoreboards. Several such scoreboards have been developed in recent years notably the International Energy Efficiency Scorecard and the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard by ACEEE and the ODYSSEE-MURE Energy Efficiency Scoreboard. We also provide an overview of other policy scoreboards in the energy field and look to lessons learned from other fields beyond energy (such as scoreboards to measure innovation or educational capabilities of countries). We analyse the methodologies used to compose the scoreboard, the possible impact of the methodologies on results, the data sources and data requirements for establishing the scoreboards, the ranking procedures, and the results. We also discuss how the scoreboards have impacted or may impact policy making.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Electricity consumption of network-connected devices in the residential sector in Germany

2021 , Suzaly, Nashua , Mandel, Tim , Brugger, Heike

Digitalization in the residential sector is growing rapidly with the introduction of more smart devices and the development of the Internet of Things. To investigate the electricity consumption of household appliances from increasing network-connected devices, a bottom-up modelling approach is used. The FORECAST-Residential model by Fraunhofer ISI was developed to calculate the residential energy consumption based on of the Bass model in product growth and consumer purchases. The model is extended in this study to calculate upstream energy use, defined as the energy required by data centres and access network efficiency in transferring data. The electricity consumption of network-connected devices themselves is also extended in the model by distinguishing devices connected to the internet and determining the duration of their connected usage. The consumption of different operation states is investigated by further separating operation and standby usage into conventional and network-connected usage. To determine the influence of different variables on the future development of energy consumption due to network-connected devices, several exploratory scenarios are simulated, covering policymaking, smart device purchases, user behaviour, and data centre efficiencies. The results show that the electricity consumption of devices can be strongly influenced by policies such as the European eco-design directive for household appliances. The conventional operation and network-connected standby consumption are the states with highest electricity consumption, consuming 73% and 17% of electricity in the year 2035 respectively. The other two investigated states: conventional standby and network-connected active consumed 6% and 4% respectively. Network-connected standby consumption is revealed to be the second most energy consumption mode due to standby mode of increasing smart devices labelled as being connected to the internet while on standby. Overall, the results indicate that the additional energy demand of network-connected devices and their upstream energy demand is relatively low. This reveals a large potential for smart devices to assist in achieving Germany's climate-neutrality target in the energy transition.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Measuring multiple benefits for energy efficiency in the industrial sector

2018 , Eichhammer, Wolfgang , Reuter, Matthias , Walz, Rainer , Patel, Martin

In previous work we developed a comprehensive indicator set for measuring multiple benefits of energy efficiency (MB-EE). The aim is to complement the harmonised approach to energy efficiency indicators and policies which is realised through the ODYSSEE-MURE project (www.odyssee-mure.eu) with an indicator set measuring Multiple Benefits. We focus in this paper on indicators to characterise MB which are relevant for the energy efficiency industry at the macro-level and, hence, also the whole economy: MB indicators describing innovation and competitiveness triggered by EE (e.g. impacts related to innovative EE technologies and foreign trade with EE technologies).Turnover achieved through energy savings, which makes relevant contributions to the economic development of a country. Macro-economic impacts from EE, in particular impacts on economic growth and employment. We discuss the methodological approach to the indicator set, the underlying data sources and limitations. This indicator set is applied for EU28 countries or a subset of countries. Knowledge made available in new tools and projects, such as the ODYSSEE- MURE facility on multiple benefits should therefore be made easily accessible for the policy level and be used by policy makers when evaluating the impacts of energy efficiency policies.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

A blind spot of European policy? Energy efficiency policies for low-income households

2017 , Ordonez, Jose Antonio , Reuter, Matthias , Schlomann, Barbara , Ugarte, Sergio , Voogt, Monique , Eichhammer, Wolfgang

To reach the target of an almost carbon neutral building stock in the European Union by 2050, as proposed by the low-carbon roadmap, it is crucial to include all residential buildings and their inhabitants into these efforts. However, at the moment, only a few energy efficiency policies in Europe focus on or actively include low-income households, which represent about 17 % of households in the EU (as defined by earning less than 60 % of their respective national median equivalised disposable income). Social policies to alleviate energy poverty exist in nearly all Member States. Though these policies may be successful in alleviating energy poverty, they can actually lower the incentive for investing in energy efficiency. In this paper, we analyse the current energy efficiency policy landscape in the EU and its Member States with regard to how they address low-income households. We both refer to their capability to remove specific barriers for energy efficiency investments in low-income households as well as their environmental, economic, and social impacts. These impacts are often discussed as ""multiple benefits"" of energy efficiency and include, beyond their contribution to the achievement of energy and climate targets, positive impacts on employment, GDP, competitiveness or energy security and beneficial social impacts as e.g. alleviation of energy poverty, better health and well being or an improved living comfort. We then give recommendations for future policy design in the EU Member States and the recast of important EU Directives (EED, EPBD, Eco-Design and Energy Labelling Directives), while considering special design elements for low-income households without neglecting rebound effects and other counter-productive effects.

View