Energy and Behaviour: Towards a Low Carbon Future

Changes to energy behaviour — the role of people and organisations in energy production, use and efficiency — are critical to supporting a societal transition towards a low carbon and more sustainable future. However, which changes need to be made, by whom, and with what technologies are still very much under discussion. This book, developed by a diverse range of experts, presents an international and multi-faceted approach to the sociotechnical challenge of engaging people in energy systems and vice versa. By providing a multidisciplinary view of this field, it encourages critical thinking about core theories, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and policy challenges. It concludes by addressing new areas where additional evidence is required for interventions and policy-making. It is designed to appeal to new entrants in the energy-efficiency and behaviour field, particularly those taking a quantitative approach to the topic. Concurrently, it recognizes ecological economist Herman Daly’s insight: what really counts is often not countable.

Introduces the major disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding energy and behaviourDelivers a cross-sectoral overview including energy behaviour in buildings, industry, transportation, smart grids, and smart citiesReviews a selection of innovative energy behaviour modelling approaches, including agent-based modelling, optimization, and decision supportCritically addresses the importance of interventions, policies, and regulatory design

1. Energy and behaviour: Challenges of a low-carbon future PART 1: Understanding energy behaviour: Disciplinary approaches and beyond 1.1 Psychology and energy conservation: Contributions from theory and practice 1.2 Behavioural economics for energy and climate change policies and the transition to a sustainable energy use - A Scandinavian perspective 1.3 Beyond energy behaviour: A broader way to see people for climate change technology planning

Part 2: Energy behaviour across sectors 2.1 Resource-efficient nondomestic buildings: Intertwining behaviours and technology 2.2 The challenge of improving energy efficiency in the building sector: Taking an in-depth look at decision-making on investments in energy-efficient refurbishments 2.3 Reframing energy efficiency in industry: A discussion of definitions, rationales and management practices 2.4 What do we know about the role the human dimension plays in shaping a sustainable low-carbon transport transition? 2.5 The impact of the institutional context on the potential contribution of new business models to democratizing the energy system 2.6 Energy, human activity, and knowledge: Addressing smart city challenges

PART 3 - Modelling energy behaviour 3.1 Energy and enjoyment: The value of household electricity consumption 3.2 Developing quantitative insights on building occupant behaviour: Supporting modelling tools and datasets 3.3 Agent-based modelling of the social dynamics of energy end use 3.4 Preference elicitation approaches for energy decisions

PART 4 - Promoting behaviour change 4.1 A critical review of energy behaviour change: The influence of context. 4.2 Urban low-carbon futures: Results from real-world lab experiment in Berlin 4.3 Overview of the European Union policies to promote more sustainable behaviours in energy end-users 4.4. A brief history of behaviour in US energy programs: Landscape, integration, and future opportunities