STRATEGY FOR HOUSEHOLD AND BUILDINGS ENERGY CONSERVATION

M. RAFKY S. DANIFARO/1506745346/CIVIL ENGINEERING

1. BACKGROUND
In the search for behaviour changes to reduce fossil energy use, households are
an important target group because they are responsible for approximately 15–20% of
total energy requirements in OECD countries (OECD, 2001). Households use energy
in a direct and in an indirect way (e.g. Vringer and Blok, 1995). Direct energy use is
the use of electricity, natural gas and other fossil fuels. Indirect energy use refers to the
energy used in the production, transportation and disposal of goods and services. In
European countries, about half of total household energy use can be defined as direct
energy use, and in the UK about 40% (Kok et al., 2003; Reinders et al., 2003). Different
household activities vary widely in the amount of energy they use. In 2005, in the UK,
about 53% of domestic energy use was related to space heating, 20% to water heating,
16% to the use of household appliances, 6% to lighting and 5% to cooking (Maslin et
al., 2007). These data can help practitioners decide which sort of household energy
conservation would be most worthwhile.

Why is domestic energy reduction important, if the urgent problem is climate

change and thus Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) emissions reduction? After all, many
researchers believe that a variety of technical solutions such as a shift to non-carbon
sources, mechanical and biological carbon sequestration, and even geoengineering (in
 the form of solar radiation management) can be implemented that will remove any need
for energy reductions (Pearce, F. Hello, 2016). However, deep GHG reductions
inevitably mean deep energy cuts (Moriarty P, Wang SJ, 2014). In brief, the present
shift to non-carbon energy sources is proceeding far too slowly to make much
difference in the time-frame available for serious climate mitigation (Moriarty P,
Honnery D, 2016). The scope for feasible biological CO2 removal by afforestation and
forest management is too small when compared with annual CO2 emissions (Naudts K,
Chen Y, McGrath MJ, Ryder J, Valade A. (2016). Mechanical CO2 capture and
sequestration is both energy intensive and costly, and may run into limits on both
possible annual rates of secure sequestration and storage capacity. Geoengineering,
although it could be rapidly implemented technically, faces both major known and
possibly unknown environmental risks, as well as serious political obstacles, since the
benefits and costs (such as reduced precipitation) will be unevenly distributed between
regions.
It is commonly assumed that households must change their behaviour to reduce
the problems caused by increasing levels of fossil energy use. Three barriers to fossil
fuel energy conservation are discussed: insufficient knowledge of effective ways to
reduce household energy use, the low priority and high costs of energy savings, and the
lack of feasible alternatives. Accordingly, many researchers have examined ways of
reducing household energy use, using either monetary or non-monetary measures.
2. TECHNICAL APPROACHES FOR ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION
a. Non-carbon sources
Renewable technologies are powered by abundant, free sources of
energy such as the wind, the sun and even plant and animal matter. Generating
energy from renewable sources can help reduce our dependence on non
renewable sources like fossil fuels, which take millions of years to replenish.
They also produce much less carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases
– a major cause of climate change.
Low carbon technologies are not completely renewable as they may still
have carbon emissions associated with it albeit much smaller than conventional
fossil fuel burning technologies. An example of this is a heat pump. Whilst the
heat from the ground is free and renewable, it still requires an electric pump to
operate the system.
 It may be possible to generate a significant proportion of your home’s
heat or electricity requirements from renewable or low carbon technologies.
Some of the main options for these technologies are:
• Heat generating technologies – wood fuelled heating systems, solar
water heating and heat pumps.
• Electricity generating technologies – wind turbines, solar electricity
(photovoltaics), hydroelectricity and micro-CHP.

One example of low carbon technology is Micro-CHP and Wood fueled

heating. Micro-CHP stands for micro combined heat and power. This refers to
a heating technology which generates heat and electricity simultaneously, from
the same energy source, in individual homes or buildings. This is an example of
a low carbon technology. A typical domestic system is expected to have the
potential to generate up to 1kW of electricity per hour once warmed up. This
would be enough to power the lighting and appliances in a typical home.

A wood fuelled heating system would be a good option to consider if

you have no access to natural gas as a fuel and you have sufficient space for the
boiler and fuel storage. Many people choose to replace oil or coal burning
heating systems with a wood fuelled system. Wood fuel is considered to be
‘carbon neutral’ as the CO2 emitted when it is burned is the same amount that
was absorbed during its growth. However fuel transport emissions are not
carbon neutral - choosing a local supplier can help minimise this. Can reduce
annual household emissions by up to 10 tonnes per year, depending on the fuel
being replaced.
b. Carbon Sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process involved in carbon capture and the
long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide or other forms
of carbon to mitigate or defer global warming. It has been proposed as a way to
slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases, which are
released by burning fossil fuels.
 It’s not hard. Healthy soil does this naturally. All we have to do is help
nature along. And as we do so, we can help improve ecosystems, improve soil
fertility, and even help endangered species survive
c. Solar Radiation Management

Solar radiation management (SRM) projects are a type of climate

engineering which seek to reflect sunlight and thus reduce global warming.
There is a method that can be applied in home that is called cool roof
technology.

Painting roof materials in white or pale colours to reflect solar radiation,

known as 'cool roof' technology, is encouraged by legislation in some areas
(notably California). This technique is limited in its ultimate effectiveness by
the constrained surface area available for treatment. This technique can give
between 0.01-0.19 W/m2 of globally averaged negative forcing, depending on
whether cities or all settlements are so treated. This is small relative to the
 3.7 W/m2 of positive forcing from a doubling of CO2. Moreover, while in small
cases it can be achieved at little or no cost by simply selecting different
materials, it can be costly if implemented on a larger scale. A 2009 Royal
Society report states that, “the overall cost of a ‘white roof method’ covering an
area of 1% of the land surface (about 1012 m2) would be about $300 billion/yr,
making this one of the least effective and most expensive methods
considered.” However, it can reduce the need for air conditioning, which emits
CO2 and contributes to global warming

3. BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE APPROACHES FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION

It is important to stress that pro-environmental behaviour is more important
than pro-environmental attitudes, which often do not translate into energy savings.
Higher income households are often found to display positive attitudes, but national
energy surveys consistently show that such households also have higher household
energy use. However, the public has been led to believe that the climate change problem
can be solved by the mix of technical fixes already discussed, including increased use
of noncarbon energy sources and carbon sequestration, with geoengineering as a
backstop technology. It may even be that pro-environmental attitudes and high energy
use are seen as consistent, given the belief in technical climate and energy fixes.
To reduce energy consumption in your home, you do not necessarily need to go
out and purchase energy efficient products. Energy conservation can be as simple as
turning off lights or appliances when you do not need them. You can also use energy-
intensive appliances less by performing household tasks manually, such as hang-drying
your clothes instead of putting them in the dryer, or washing dishes by hand.
 The behavior adjustments that have the highest potential for utility savings are
turning down the heat on your thermostat in the winter and using your air conditioner
less in the summer. Heating and cooling costs constitute nearly half of an average
home’s utility bills, so these reductions in the intensity and frequency of heating and
cooling offer the greatest savings.
Many factors influence household energy conservation. Firstly, individuals
need to be aware of the need for and possible ways to reduce household energy use.
Secondly, they need to be motivated to conserve energy. Thirdly, they should be able
to adopt the relevant behaviours. Each of these factors will be discussed briefly below.
3.1 Knowledge
In general, people are well aware of the problems related to household
energy use, and are concerned about these problems (Abrahamse, 2007),
although there is still confusion about the causal processes involved (e.g. Bord
et al., 2000). For example, many people think global warming is caused by the
depleting of ozone in the upper atmosphere (which is not true), while only a
limited number of people think global warming is caused by heating and cooling
homes (which is true; Bord et al., 2000). As climate change communication has
intensified in the last few years, public understanding may have improved.
However, given the complex processes involved, some confusion is still likely.
Moreover, people know little about the energy use related to their behaviour.
For example, when assessing the energy use of appliances, people tend to rely
on a simple heuristic: they think that energy use is related to the size of
 appliances. The larger the appliance, the more energy it is believed to use (Baird
and Brier, 1981; Schuitema and Steg, 2005b). Obviously, this heuristic is not
always accurate. Moreover, people underestimate the energy use involved in
heating water, which suggests that people are not well aware of the fact that
energy sources are needed to do this (Schuitema and Steg, 2005b).
3.2 Motivations for energy conservation
Normative and environmental concerns are important in promoting
energy conservation, because they provide the most solid basis for it
(Lindenberg and Steg, 2007). If people only conserve energy for hedonic or cost
reasons, they will stop doing so as soon as the behaviour is no longer attractive
or costeffective. When energy conservation results from normative concerns, it
is more robust against such changes.
3.3 Ability to engage in energy conservation
In some cases, people indicate that they are not able to reduce their
energy use. Energy-efficient equipment may not be available, it may be very
expensive, or feasible alternatives may be lacking. This ability is highly
dependent on contextual factors, such as the availability of products and
services, the available infrastructure, cultural norms and economic factors.
When these factors strongly inhibit or facilitate pro-environmental actions,
psychological motivations are relatively unimportant (Guagnano et al., 1995)

On the basis of the barriers to fossil energy conservation discussed above, it may be
suggested that energy conservation can be promoted via increasing people’s knowledge,
strengthening their concern with energy problems, or facilitating behaviour changes by
contextual changes. In general, two types of strategies may be employed to promote
household energy conservation. Psychological strategies are aimed at changing people’s
knowledge, perceptions, motivation, cognitions and norms related to energy use and
conservation. The assumption is that such changes will be followed by changes in
behaviour, and, consequently, by energy savings. Examples are the provision of
information, education and modelling. Structural strategies are aimed at changing the
context in which decisions are made so as to make energy conservation more attractive.
Examples are new or better products and services, changes in infrastructure, pricing
policies and legal measures.

4. MONETARY INCENTIVES AND INFORMATION PROVISION

 Two approaches to domestic energy conservation are often implicit. One
approach, increasing energy costs, can often be evaluated by before-and-after analyses
of energy use after a price rise, and is discussed in Section 4.1. Section 4.2 examines
the role that energy information provision can play in cutting energy use.
4.1. Monetary incentives
Monetary incentives can take many forms: rebates, grants or loans for
energy-efficiency improvements, direct income tax deductions for individuals
and businesses, and exemptions or reduced sales tax on eligible products.
Incentives offered by the federal government are generally in the form of tax
incentives, which target consumers purchasing home appliances, equipment, or
home shell items such as windows or insulation. Tax incentives also target
equipment manufacturers and businesses that sell efficient equipment.
4.2. Energy information provision
Householders have long had basic information on domestic energy and
gas use from their utility bills. Nevertheless, research has recently shown that
householders typically hold erroneous ideas about the power consumption of
various household appliances, believing for example, that the size of the
appliance is a reliable indicator of its power consumption . (Attari et al) found
that householders were very poor at estimating the power consumption of
various appliances, over-estimating for low energy-intensity appliances, and
under-estimating for high energy-intensive ones. Overall, they markedly
underestimated power consumption.
5. SUMMARY

Through all the approach we discussed above, there are several things we can
do to create or minimize energy usage in our homes, such as:

 Improve the Insulation in Your Home

 Consider Replacing Your Windows
 Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)
 Look for Energy Efficient Appliances
 Don’t Overuse Appliances
 Consider Solar Panels
 Schedule Energy Efficiency Audit
 Plant Shady Landscaping
 Install Programmable Thermostat
 Switch off Gadgets when not in use
 Set Water Heater to Warm Setting
REFERENSI:
JiaWang, Stephen. Moriarty, Patrick. 2017. Strategies for Household Energy
Conservation.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217307944)

Steg, Linda. 2008. Promoting household energy conservation.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421508004643)