From the Lab to the Marketplace: Government's Role in R & D and Market Transformation for Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Evan Mills, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

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Abstract

Governments can use a variety of tools to create a fertile business environment for private-sector energy efficiency and catalyze market transformation. Government-supported research and development (R&D) has proven to be one very promising means of achieving these goals. This paper describes new analysis of selected federal R&D efforts m the United States over the past 20 years, including technologies, software, and analytical support of regulatory activities. ?Ihe four cases presented (advanced lighting technology, spectrally selective window coatings, and appliance standards development, buildings energy design tools) are highly cost-effective, having resulted in $5.7 billion savings to US consumers as of 1993. In addition, these four program areas have helped create a $2.4 billion annual market for the products and services resulting directly from the research. By the year 2015, economic benefits of nearly $90 billion will likely have been achieved (net of up-front consumer costs), along with 200 million tons per year of avoided carbon-dioxide emissions. Other areas of government-supported research for which the benefits are not as directly quantifiable include climate change mitigation strategies, integrated resource planning for gas and electric utilities, enhancing indoor air quality, improving the efficiency of government? own facilities, and international assistance activities. In each case, close cooperation wuh industry has proven an essential factor in moving new technologies from the lab to the marketplace.