Many Barriers Remain to Improving Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings

According to a new book by the International Energy Agency, existing buildings are responsible for more than 40 percent of the world's total primary energy consumption and for 24 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The book, Promoting Energy Efficiency Investments: Case Studies in the Residential Sector, says that although improving energy efficiency in residential buildings is by far the most cost-effective way to increase energy security, reduce energy costs, and cut emissions, many efficiency technologies and practices remain untapped due to numerous market barriers.

These barriers include financing difficulties, a low priority given to energy issues, poor information, and a disparity of incentives available to investors and energy end-users, such as split incentives between landlords and tenants. The book reports that a new market for energy efficiency is needed to overcome these barriers. This new market will require increased private-sector involvement and strong political will, especially at the national level. The book examines experiences in the U.S., Japan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and evaluates policies and measures for improving energy efficiency in existing residential buildings.

The book recommends public-private partnerships as the strongest way to attack problems. It also recommends multi-party packages to address multiple barriers simultaneously and a more systematic data collection to improve policy analysis and comparisons of countries' energy policies and measures.