This is a definitive guide to the rebound effect in home heating – the increase in energy service use after a technological intervention aimed at reducing consumption. It sets out what the effect is, how it plays out in the home heating sector, what this implies for energy saving initiatives in this sector, and how it relates to rebound effects in other sectors. The book outlines how the concept of the rebound effect has been developed and the scope of research on it, both generally and particularly in the home heating sector. Within the context of energy and CO2 emissions policy, it summarises the empirical evidence, exploring its causes and the attempts that are being made to mitigate it. Various definitions of the rebound effect are considered, in particular the idea of the effect as an energy-efficiency ‘elasticity’. The book shows how this definition can be rigorously applied to thermal retrofits, and to national consumption data, to give logically consistent rebound effect results that can be coherently compared with those of other sectors, and allow policy makers to have more confidence in the predictions about potential energy savings.

This is a definitive guide to the rebound effect in home heating – the increase in energy service use after a technological intervention aimed at reducing consumption. It sets out what the effect is, how it plays out in the home heating sector, what this implies for energy saving initiatives in this sector, and how it relates to rebound effects in other sectors. The book outlines how the concept of the rebound effect has been developed and the scope of research on it, both generally and particularly in the home heating sector. Within the context of energy and CO2 emissions policy, it summarises the empirical evidence, exploring its causes and the attempts that are being made to mitigate it. Various definitions of the rebound effect are considered, in particular the idea of the effect as an energy-efficiency ‘elasticity’. The book shows how this definition can be rigorously applied to thermal retrofits, and to national consumption data, to give logically consistent rebound effect results that can be coherently compared with those of other sectors, and allow policy makers to have more confidence in the predictions about potential energy savings.

Shows readers how we can all help solve the climate crisis by focusing on a few key, achievable actions.

This book calls for rethinking current climate, energy and sustainability policy-making by presenting new insights into the rebound phenomenon; i.e., the driving forces, mechanisms and extent of rebound effects and potential means of mitigating them. It pursues an innovative and novel approach to the political and scientific rebound discourse and hence, supplements the current state-of-knowledge discussed in the field of energy economics and recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Building on central rebound publications from the past four decades, this book is divided into three main sections: Part I highlights new aspects of rebound economics by presenting insights into issues that have so far not been satisfactorily researched, such as rebounds in countries of the Global South, rebounds on the producer-side, and rebounds from sufficiency behaviour (as opposed to rebounds from technical efficiency improvements). In turn, Part II goes beyond conventional economic rebound research, exploring multidisciplinary perspectives on the phenomenon, in particular from the fields of psychology and sociology. Advancing such multidisciplinary perspectives delivers a more comprehensive understanding of rebound’s driving forces, mechanisms, and policy options. Part III puts rebounds into practice and presents several policy cases and sector-specific approaches, including the contexts of labour markets, urban planning, tourism, information and communication technologies, and transport. Lastly, the book embeds the issue into the larger debate on decoupling, green growth and degrowth, and identifies key lessons learned for sustainable development strategies and policies at large. By employing such varied and in-depth analyses, the book makes an essential contribution to the discussion of the overall question: Can resource-, energy-use and greenhouse gas emissions be substantially reduced without hindering economic growth?

Combining empirical and theoretical studies at both the macro and micro levels, this book explores the reasons why improved energy efficiency may not reduce energy consumption.

This book focuses on spatial planning – an important determinant of energy saving and renewable energy supply. Revealing the key driving forces for spatial development supporting the shift towards energy efficiency and renewable energy supplies, it shows the importance of integrated spatial and energy planning approaches for a timely and sustainable change of energy systems, thus supporting policies of climate protection. As operating within the context of renewable energy sources is becoming a major policy issue at the international, European and national level, spatial dimensions of renewable energy systems as well as challenges, barriers and opportunities in different spatial contexts become more important. This book analyses not only the fundamental system interrelations between resources, technologies and consumption patterns with respect to energy, but also the links to the spatial context, and provides guidelines for researchers as well as practitioners in this new, emerging field. It presents innovative analytical tools to solve real-world problems and discusses the most important fields of action in integrated spatial and energy planning including planning contents, planning visions and principles as well as planning process design and planning methodology.

ICT Innovations for Sustainability is an investigation of how information and communication technology can contribute to sustainable development. It presents clear definitions of sustainability, suggesting conceptual frameworks for the positive and negative effects of ICT on sustainable development. It reviews methods of assessing the direct and indirect impact of ICT systems on energy and materials demand, and examines the results of such assessments. In addition, it investigates ICT-based approaches to supporting sustainable patterns of production and consumption, analyzing them at various levels of abstraction – from end-user devices, Internet infrastructure, user behavior, and social practices to macro-economic indicators. Combining approaches from Computer Science, Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, Economics, and Environmental Sciences, the book presents a new, holistic perspective on ICT for Sustainability (ICT4S). It is an indispensable resource for anyone working in the area of ICT for Energy Efficiency, Life Cycle Assessment of ICT, Green IT, Green Information Systems, Environmental Informatics, Energy Informatics, Sustainable HCI, or Computational Sustainability.

Does energy consumption influence architectural style? Should more energy-efficient buildings look different? Can that "look" be used to explain or enhance their performance? Architecture and Energy provides architects and architectural theorists with more durable arguments for environmental design decisions, arguments addressing three different scales or aspects of contemporary construction. By drawing together essays from the leading experts in the field, this book engages with crucial issues in sustainable design, such as: The larger role of energy in forming the cultural and economic systems in which architecture is conceived, constructed, and evaluated The different measures and meanings of energy "performance" and how those measures are realized in buildings The specific ways in which energy use translates into the visible aspects of architectural style. Drawing on research from the UK, US, Europe, and Asia the book outlines the problems surrounding energy and architecture and provides the reader with a considered overview of this important topic.

The contribution of buildings to climate change is widely acknowledged. This book investigates how building regulatory systems are addressing the current and future effects of climate change, and how these systems can be improved. After presenting a comprehensive overview of how the current building regulatory system developed, some of the inadequacies are identified. The largest part of the book examines the potential for innovative policy solutions to address the real world problem of mitigating and adapting buildings to climate change. This publication contributes significantly to our understanding of the complexities of long-term energy efficiency in buildings. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Building Research & Information journal.