Whole life costing of domestic energy demand reduction technologies: householder perspectives

Abstract

A recent, major UK research project investigated technical and social aspects of reducing the CO₂ emissions of UK domestic housing by 50% by the year 2030. As 80% of the UK housing stock that will be present in 2030 has already been built, this study aimed to research the whole life costs of three sets of energy demand reduction technologies for existing housing, over a 25‐year period, suitable to deliver significant CO₂ emissions reduction up to 50%. Demand side technological interventions in the form of fabric upgrades and ventilation systems are identified. Whole life cycle analysis of interventions carried out on two housing variants prominent in the domestic stock under different energy price scenarios is carried out using discounted cash flow and compared with the do‐nothing option. The results show that, despite reducing annual energy bills, there is no clear financial case even over a 25‐year horizon for householders to invest in the proposed interventions that contribute to CO₂ emission reduction targets. When discussed with respect to household income and consumption preferences, the results reveal the need for new policy approaches to overcome the financial and non‐financial hurdles for a mass uptake of energy efficient technologies.

Keywords:

• Energy consumption
• energy efficiency
• whole life costing
• housing

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank EPSRC and The Carbon Trust for funding this work and would also like to thank the contribution of the anonymous reviewers.

Notes

1. We have chosen the 2006 edition, of the Family Spending report, published in 2007 because it represents the results collected in the years 2005 and 2006. The reason is the use that we made in our research of 2005 capital costs for energy efficiency technology.

2. Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002): ‘behavior that consciously seeks to minimize the negative impact of one’s actions on the natural and built world’.