IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v167y2022ics0301421522002580.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of risk perception on energy efficiency investments: Evidence from a German survey

Author

Listed:
  • Rockstuhl, Sebastian
  • Wenninger, Simon
  • Wiethe, Christian
  • Ahlrichs, Jakob

Abstract

Energy efficiency investments are typically based on either one of two opposing perspectives on financial risk. This study conducted a choice experiment based on a simulated online shop for energetic retrofitting. Here, the resulting financial risk of retrofitting was presented in different treatment groups from these two perspectives. In this vein, participants in the first treatment group were confronted with the resulting risk of deviating energy bill savings (investment risk perspective), which increases with the investment. In the second treatment group, participants were confronted with resulting risk of deviating energy bills after the investment (energy bill risk perspective), which decreases with investment. In the third treatment group, we displayed risk from both perspectives. We found that participants deciding on retrofitting measures within the online shop displaying energy bill risk invested about 20% more than participants in an online shop displaying the investment risk, tested for significance. These findings establish a new way of nudging individuals towards energy efficiency investments, which is especially important for energy policymakers. We, therefore, recommended actively leveraging the risk-reducing potential under the energy bill perspective when promoting energy efficiency investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Rockstuhl, Sebastian & Wenninger, Simon & Wiethe, Christian & Ahlrichs, Jakob, 2022. "The influence of risk perception on energy efficiency investments: Evidence from a German survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:167:y:2022:i:c:s0301421522002580
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113033
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522002580
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113033?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Todd D. Gerarden & Richard G. Newell & Robert N. Stavins, 2017. "Assessing the Energy-Efficiency Gap," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1486-1525, December.
    2. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2012. "Homeowners' preferences for adopting innovative residential heating systems: A discrete choice analysis for Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1271-1283.
    3. Simon Wenninger & Christian Wiethe, 2021. "Benchmarking Energy Quantification Methods to Predict Heating Energy Performance of Residential Buildings in Germany," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 63(3), pages 223-242, June.
    4. Sofia Tsemekidi Tzeiranaki & Paolo Bertoldi & Francesca Diluiso & Luca Castellazzi & Marina Economidou & Nicola Labanca & Tiago Ribeiro Serrenho & Paolo Zangheri, 2019. "Analysis of the EU Residential Energy Consumption: Trends and Determinants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-27, March.
    5. Farsi, Mehdi, 2010. "Risk aversion and willingness to pay for energy efficient systems in rental apartments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 3078-3088, June.
    6. Achtnicht, Martin, 2011. "Do environmental benefits matter? Evidence from a choice experiment among house owners in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2191-2200, September.
    7. Banfi, Silvia & Farsi, Mehdi & Filippini, Massimo & Jakob, Martin, 2008. "Willingness to pay for energy-saving measures in residential buildings," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 503-516, March.
    8. Mills, Evan & Kromer, Steve & Weiss, Gary & Mathew, Paul A., 2006. "From volatility to value: analysing and managing financial and performance risk in energy savings projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 188-199, January.
    9. Achtnicht, Martin & Madlener, Reinhard, 2014. "Factors influencing German house owners' preferences on energy retrofits," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 254-263.
    10. Momsen, Katharina & Stoerk, Thomas, 2014. "From intention to action: Can nudges help consumers to choose renewable energy?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 376-382.
    11. Rockstuhl, Sebastian & Wenninger, Simon & Wiethe, Christian & Häckel, Björn, 2021. "Understanding the risk perception of energy efficiency investments: Investment perspective vs. energy bill perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    12. Kwak, So-Yoon & Yoo, Seung-Hoon & Kwak, Seung-Jun, 2010. "Valuing energy-saving measures in residential buildings: A choice experiment study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 673-677, January.
    13. Thompson, Philip B, 1997. "Evaluating energy efficiency investments: accounting for risk in the discounting process," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(12), pages 989-996, October.
    14. Jarmo S. Kikstra & Adriano Vinca & Francesco Lovat & Benigna Boza-Kiss & Bas Ruijven & Charlie Wilson & Joeri Rogelj & Behnam Zakeri & Oliver Fricko & Keywan Riahi, 2021. "Climate mitigation scenarios with persistent COVID-19-related energy demand changes," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(12), pages 1114-1123, December.
    15. Baltuttis, Dennik & Töppel, Jannick & Tränkler, Timm & Wiethe, Christian, 2020. "Managing the risks of energy efficiency insurances in a portfolio context: An actuarial diversification approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Jerry A. Hausman, 1979. "Individual Discount Rates and the Purchase and Utilization of Energy-Using Durables," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 33-54, Spring.
    17. Matthew Pritsker, 1997. "Evaluating Value at Risk Methodologies: Accuracy versus Computational Time," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 12(2), pages 201-242, October.
    18. Kasperbauer, T.J., 2017. "The permissibility of nudging for sustainable energy consumption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 52-57.
    19. Jackson, Jerry, 2010. "Promoting energy efficiency investments with risk management decision tools," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 3865-3873, August.
    20. Mills, Evan, 2003. "Risk transfer via energy-savings insurance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 273-281, February.
    21. Ahlrichs, Jakob & Rockstuhl, Sebastian & Tränkler, Timm & Wenninger, Simon, 2020. "The impact of political instruments on building energy retrofits: A risk-integrated thermal Energy Hub approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    22. Ahlrichs, Jakob & Wenninger, Simon & Wiethe, Christian & Häckel, Björn, 2022. "Impact of socio-economic factors on local energetic retrofitting needs - A data analytics approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    23. Jaffe, Adam B. & Stavins, Robert N., 1994. "The energy-efficiency gap What does it mean?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(10), pages 804-810, October.
    24. Robert Thorndike, 1953. "Who belongs in the family?," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 18(4), pages 267-276, December.
    25. Häckel, Björn & Pfosser, Stefan & Tränkler, Timm, 2017. "Explaining the energy efficiency gap - Expected Utility Theory versus Cumulative Prospect Theory," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 414-426.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wiethe, Christian & Wenninger, Simon, 2023. "The influence of building energy performance prediction accuracy on retrofit rates," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rockstuhl, Sebastian & Wenninger, Simon & Wiethe, Christian & Häckel, Björn, 2021. "Understanding the risk perception of energy efficiency investments: Investment perspective vs. energy bill perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Fischbacher, Urs & Schudy, Simeon & Teyssier, Sabrina, 2021. "Heterogeneous preferences and investments in energy saving measures," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Ahlrichs, Jakob & Rockstuhl, Sebastian & Tränkler, Timm & Wenninger, Simon, 2020. "The impact of political instruments on building energy retrofits: A risk-integrated thermal Energy Hub approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Wiethe, Christian & Wenninger, Simon, 2023. "The influence of building energy performance prediction accuracy on retrofit rates," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Baltuttis, Dennik & Töppel, Jannick & Tränkler, Timm & Wiethe, Christian, 2020. "Managing the risks of energy efficiency insurances in a portfolio context: An actuarial diversification approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Ahlrichs, Jakob & Rockstuhl, Sebastian, 2022. "Estimating fair rent increases after building retrofits: A max-min fairness approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    7. Galassi, Veronica & Madlener, Reinhard, 2017. "The Role of Environmental Concern and Comfort Expectations in Energy Retrofit Decisions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 53-65.
    8. Töppel, Jannick & Tränkler, Timm, 2019. "Modeling energy efficiency insurances and energy performance contracts for a quantitative comparison of risk mitigation potential," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 842-859.
    9. Schueftan, Alejandra & Aravena, Claudia & Reyes, René, 2021. "Financing energy efficiency retrofits in Chilean households: The role of financial instruments, savings and uncertainty in energy transition," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Anil Markandya & Xavier Labandeira & Ana Ramos, 2013. "Policy Instruments to Foster Energy Efficiency," Working Papers 01-2014, Economics for Energy.
    11. Chersoni, Giulia & DellaValle, Nives & Fontana, Magda, 2022. "Modelling thermal insulation investment choice in the EU via a behaviourally informed agent-based model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    12. Lang, Ghislaine & Farsi, Mehdi & Lanz, Bruno & Weber, Sylvain, 2021. "Energy efficiency and heating technology investments: Manipulating financial information in a discrete choice experiment," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Feser, Daniel & Bizer, Kilian & Rudolph-Cleff, Annette & Schulze, Joachim, 2016. "Energy audits in a private firm environment: Energy efficiency consultants' cost calculation for innovative technologies in the housing sector," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 275, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    14. Ramos, A. & Gago, A. & Labandeira, X. & Linares, P., 2015. "The role of information for energy efficiency in the residential sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(S1), pages 17-29.
    15. Britto, Anthony & Dehler-Holland, Joris & Fichtner, Wolf, 2022. "Wealth, consumption, and energy-efficiency investments," Working Paper Series in Production and Energy 67, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Industrial Production (IIP).
    16. Schleich, Joachim & Gassmann, Xavier & Faure, Corinne & Meissner, Thomas, 2016. "Making the implicit explicit: A look inside the implicit discount rate," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 321-331.
    17. Christian A. Oberst & Reinhard Madlener, 2015. "Prosumer Preferences Regarding the Adoption of Micro†Generation Technologies: Empirical Evidence for German Homeowners," Working Papers 2015.07, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    18. Elena Stolyarova & Hélène Le Cadre & Dominique Osso & Benoit Allibe, 2015. "Stated Preferences for Space Heating Investment," Working Papers hal-01160059, HAL.
    19. Achtnicht, Martin & Madlener, Reinhard, 2014. "Factors influencing German house owners' preferences on energy retrofits," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 254-263.
    20. Wilson, C. & Pettifor, H. & Chryssochoidis, G., 2018. "Quantitative modelling of why and how homeowners decide to renovate energy efficiently," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1333-1344.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:167:y:2022:i:c:s0301421522002580. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.