[Greenbuilding] The Rebound Effect: Real, but Not Very Large

[Reuben Deumling]

Yeah, not very comprehensive. ACEEE has refused to acknowledge the full
context of the rebound effect from the get-go. European scholars have
always taken a more nuanced and detailed look at this subject. They find a
lot more kinds of rebounds and higher percentages than most in the U.S.

The one I'm interested in I call the institutional rebound, whereby energy
authorities (EPA, DOE, utilities, energy agencies, etc.) promote energy
efficient appliances in such a manner that the big, fancy, full-featured
ones always preferentially have the endorsement labels, are awarded higher
rebates, etc. The social message this sends is not an economic rebound but
rather a semiotic mystification. It suggests the established rules
(smaller, modest is going to use less energy) are obsolete.

On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 10:22 AM, <peterkidd at shaw.ca> wrote:

> From ACEE:
>
> As the energy efficiency of products, homes, and businesses improves, it
> becomes less expensive to operate them. The rebound effect postulates that
> people increase their use of products and facilities as a result of this
> reduction in operating costs, thereby reducing the energy savings achieved.
> Periodically, some analysts raise questions about the rebound effect,
> arguing that it is a major factor that needs to be accounted for when
> analyzing energy efficiency programs. The most recent example is a report
> by the Institute for Energy Research, an organization that primarily works
> on oil, gas, coal, and electricity markets. In order to address these
> recurring arguments, today ACEEE released a white paper entitled The
> Rebound Effect: Large or Small? The paper is written in a "question and
> answer" format designed to summarize what we know, what we do not,
> and---given what we know---how large the rebound effect is likely to be.
> The paper examines both direct and indirect rebound effects.
>
> To continue reading the blog post visit:http://aceee.org/blog/**
> 2012/08/rebound-effect-real-**not-very-large<http://aceee.org/blog/2012/08/rebound-effect-real-not-very-large>
> .
>
> To go directly to the white paper visit: http://aceee.org/white-paper/**
> rebound-effect-large-or-small<http://aceee.org/white-paper/rebound-effect-large-or-small>
> .
>
>
>
>
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