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Household fuel expenditure and residential building energy efficiency ratings in Ireland

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  • Curtis, John
  • Pentecost, Anne

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between residential buildings׳ energy efficiency labels and household energy expenditure, complementing an existing literature comparing theoretical and actual energy use. Residential building energy performance certificates indicate a theoretical energy use based on standardised assumptions about occupancy and energy service demand and are a market signal about the energy performance of a property. This paper quantifies the empirical relationship between households’ expenditure on fuel and building energy performance using household expenditure survey data from the Republic of Ireland. The extent of this relationship, i.e. the size of the elasticity parameter, is of direct relevance to policy makers in the context of energy efficiency and climate policy targets. With building energy efficiency measured as a 15-point scale, we find that each rating decline along the scale is associated with a reduction in energy expenditure of 1.6%.

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  • Curtis, John & Pentecost, Anne, 2015. "Household fuel expenditure and residential building energy efficiency ratings in Ireland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 57-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:76:y:2015:i:c:p:57-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.10.010
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    Cited by:

    1. Tarek Atalla & Simona Bigerna & Carlo Andrea Bollino, 2018. "Energy demand elasticities and weather worldwide," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(1), pages 207-237, April.
    2. Selima Sultana & Nastaran Pourebrahim & Hyojin Kim, 2018. "Household Energy Expenditures in North Carolina: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    3. João Delgado & Ana Mafalda Matos & Ana Sofia Guimarães, 2022. "Linking Indoor Thermal Comfort with Climate, Energy, Housing, and Living Conditions: Portuguese Case in European Context," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. O'Malley, Seamus & Roantree, Barra & Curtis, John, 2020. "Carbon taxes, poverty and compensation options," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number SUSTAT98, June.
    5. Duk Joon Park & Ki Hyung Yu & Yong Sang Yoon & Kee Han Kim & Sun Sook Kim, 2015. "Analysis of a Building Energy Efficiency Certification System in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Curtis, John & Tovar, Miguel Angel & Grilli, Gianluca, 2020. "Access to and consumption of natural gas: Spatial and socio-demographic drivers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Abdullah Khalid Abdullah & Abeer Darsaleh & Shaimaa Abdelbaqi & Maatouk Khoukhi, 2022. "Thermal Performance Evaluation of Window Shutters for Residential Buildings: A Case Study of Abu Dhabi, UAE," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    8. Riccardo Camboni & Alberto Corsini & Raffaele Miniaci & Paola Valbonesi, 2023. "CO2 emissions reduction from residential buildings: cost estimate and policy design," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0304, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".

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