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Beyond Energy Conservation: Energy-Relevant Decisions Within Office Buildings

Panel: Panel 3: Dynamics of Consumption (social and cultural perspectives, actors and their interactions)

Author:
Lukas Weber, Energy Analysis Research Groups, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)

Abstract

Most energy analysts seek to make energy consumption more efficient. Many adopt a simple theory of economic rationality, in which it is assumed that decisions related to energy consumption in firms will be taken in favour of energy efficiency so long as they are cost-effective. This assumption, however, is wrong, as the research reported here demonstrates.

The development of electricity consumption between 1986 and 1996 was studied empirically in one hundres Swiss office buildings selected at random. The data show that, although managements tended to overestimate energy costs by a factor of three, energy efficiency was taken into consideration in less than a quarter of all decisions related to a change in technical infrastructure of maintenance, which I call energy-relevant decisions. Moreover, only one seventh of the total reduction in electricity consumption was expressly intended to save energy. Most energy savings were a positive side-effect of core business-related activities. The factor found to have the most impact was an increase in computing.

The majority of energy-relevant decisions were about investments. The nominal decision-maker was the management, but in practice we found decisions were mostly taken by specialists inside the firm, e.g. the maintenance staff. Conservation measures that require an extra investment are unlikely to be taken because of their low priority compared to investments in the core business. Successful conservation measures were mostly initiated, decided and realised by a single person fairly low down in the hierarchy.