Common Energy Saving Programs in Residential Buildings Operation: A Survey and Analysis of Existing Studies

Abstract

In 2020, the U.S. residential building sector alone generated 923.1 MMtCO2e emissions in total (20% of the national total emissions). Residential building is the 3rd highest carbon emitter among all the end-use sectors in the country. To reach the goal set by the Paris Agreement, decarbonizing the residential building sector is imperative. This thesis explores the main sources of carbon emissions from the residential sector, the comparative carbon profiles of different types of residential properties, and the common programs to decarbonize the residential sector, including energy efficiency enhancement, fuel switching, energy supply decarbonization, and behavioral energy efficiency (BEE) programs. This thesis elaborates on the empirically approved behavioral science principles that make effective the various types of BEE programs. Further, this thesis investigates the implementation cost and carbon reduction effectiveness of conventional structural programs vs BEE programs. The preliminary conclusion is that behavioral programs have superior cost-benefit ratio over conventional structural programs that requires huge upfront capital expenditure, the more BEE program proportionally included in a residential energy reduction portfolio, the more cost-efficient it is. However, due to the lower cap of the maximum effectiveness of BEE programs, an optimal mixture of the two with priority for BEE programs over conventional structural program is recommended to achieve the best cost-efficient carbon reduction for property owners or real estate developers that are subject to budget constraints. Lastly, this thesis identifies the problem of underutilization and underproliferation of behavioral based programs and proposes the means to boost the adoption of behavioral interventions via policy recommendations and though the lens of different stakeholders within the residential building lifecycle.