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Measuring The Energy Savings From Home Improvement Investments: Evidence From Monthly Billing Data

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Author Info
Gilbert E. Metcalf
Kevin A. Hassett

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Abstract

An important factor driving energy policy over the past two decades has been the ''energy paradox,'' the perception that consumers apply unreasonably high hurdle rates to energy-saving investments. We explore one possible explanation for this apparent puzzle: that realized returns fall short of the returns promised by engineers and product manufacturers. Using a unique data set, we find that the realized return to attic insulation is statistically significant, but the median estimate (9.7%) is almost identical to a discount rate for this investment implied by a CAPM analysis. We conclude that the case for the energy paradox is weaker than has previously been believed. © 2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog

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Publisher Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal The Review of Economics and Statistics.

Volume (Year): 81 (1999)
Issue (Month): 3 (August)
Pages: 516-528
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Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:81:y:1999:i:3:p:516-528

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Eric Hirst & Richard Goeltz, 1984. "The Economics of Utility Residential Energy Conservation Programs: A Pacific Northwest Example," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 5(3), pages 159-170.
  3. Herbert, John H & Kreil, Erik, 1989. "Specifying and Evaluating Aggregate Monthly Natural-Gas Demand by Households," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 21(10), pages 1369-81, October.
  4. Hartman, Raymond S. & Doane, Michael J., 1987. "Taking the con out of conservation program evaluation," Resources and Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 187-207, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Shin, Jeong-Shik, 1985. "Perception of Price When Price Information Is Costly: Evidence from Residential Electricity Demand," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(4), pages 591-98, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. E. Raphael Branch, 1993. "Short Run Income Elasticity of Demand for Residential Electricity Using Consumer Expenditure Survey Data," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 14(4), pages 111-122.
  7. Narayana R. Kocherlakota, 1996. "The Equity Premium: It's Still a Puzzle," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(1), pages 42-71, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Frederick D. Sebold & Eric W. Fox, 1985. "Realized Savings from Residential Conservation Activity," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 6(2), pages 73-88.
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  1. Stavins, Robert N. & Jaffe, Judson & Schatzki, Todd, 2007. "Too Good to Be True? Three Economic Assessments of California Climate Change Policy," Discussion Papers dp-07-12, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
  2. Isamu Matsukawa, 2005. "The Benefits of Information on the Efficient Usage of Consumer Durables," Others 0501005, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  3. Stavins, Robert & Jaffe, Judson & Schatski, Todd, 2007. "Too Good to Be True? An Examination of Three Economic Assessments of California Climate Change Policy," Working Paper Series rwp07-016, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Peter Grösche & Colin Vance, 2008. "Willingness-to-Pay for Energy Conservation and Free-Ridership on Subsidization – Evidence from Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0058, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Adam Jaffe & Richard Newell & Robert Stavins, 2002. "Environmental Policy and Technological Change," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 22(1), pages 41-70, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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