We are experiencing minor difficulties with some of our submission forms, which we are working to resolve. You should still be able to submit items, but if you have any issues while submitting, please contact us at dspace-lib@mit.edu.

Making energy efficiency desirable : lessons from a cutting-edge program in Minneapolis

Thumbnail Image
Download
Name

759125126-MIT.pdf

Description
Full printable version
Size

4.21 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

add50c2c1deceb2077c917cd96fc829d

Author(s)
Stern, Stephanie (Stephanie B.)
Advisor(s)
Judith Layzer.
Date Issued
2011
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
For the last 30 years, experts have claimed that energy efficiency upgrades in existing buildings can lead to significant reductions in energy use, yet efficiency programs, particularly those geared towards households, have failed to meet expectations. Through interviews with participants of the Community Energy Services program in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I identify the barriers to investing in energy efficiency facing homeowners, even with a cutting-edge program that combines technical and financial assistance and seeks to create neighborhood norms around addressing energy efficiency. I argue that it is important to distinguish between financial and logistical barriers and emotional or psychological barriers. Both are important to convince a homeowner to take action, yet Community Energy Services, like many other programs, focuses too much on the former, while failing to make a compelling emotional argument for the majority of their participants. The Community Energy Services program improves on previous energy efficiency programs by simplifying the process and supporting the homeowner. It provides a promising model that, once strengthened with a more convincing emotional argument for upgrades, could be a breakthrough to significant reductions in energy use.
Description
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-45).
Subjects
Urban Studies and Planning.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Persistent DSpace Link
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
Notify us about copyright concerns.