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Dimensions of energy efficiency in a political context

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Abstract

Energy efficiency is widely accepted as a simple and cost-effective way to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It is accordingly a corner stone of European energy and climate policies. However, in formulation of explicit political energy efficiency goals as well as in monitoring these targets, discussions arise both concerning the concrete definition and the measurement. Accordingly, there is a lack of clarification and in-depth discussions of several fundamental aspects or dimensions of measuring energy efficiency, in particular in a political context. Here, we discuss and analyse two aspects of energy efficiency and ways to measure it, namely the formulation of a baseline and the accounting methods, in order to clarify ongoing discussions. We find that both top-down and bottom-up methods contain a series of “adjustment settings” which can strongly influence the degree of energy efficiency target achievement. Additionally, several baselines can be meaningfully defined and used in a political context. We find a factor of 10 or more between different meaningful definitions of energy efficiency easily achievable. Our results indicate that rigorous definitions should be used for formulating and monitoring energy efficiency targets in a political context if exactly the same understanding of target is to be achieved.

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Notes

  1. The discussion started during the second half of the 1970s in the USA (see e.g. Schipper and Lichtenberg 1976, Darmstadter et al. 1977, Berndt 1978 and Schipper 1979). During the 1980s and 1990s, energy efficiency indicator projects started both at the country level (see e.g. EIA 1995 for the USA, Farla et al. 1998 and Farla and Blok 2000 for the Netherlands, Natural Resources 2004) and for the IEA (2004) and the European Union (Morovic et al. 1989, Bosseboeuf et al. 1999). For a critical view of these approaches see Horowitz (2008).

  2. Since the late 1970s, monitoring of energy savings has also been part of Demand Side Management (DSM) that aimed at changing both the level and timing of electricity demand. Especially in the USA, extensive programs have been running and various measurement methods have been developed (Loughran and Kulick 2004, Koomey et al. 2010, Violette et al. 2012). But these methods only aimed at a given energy efficiency program and not at the whole energy savings achieved in a country. This is the main difference to the present discussion in Europe which is in the focus of this paper.

  3. In this context, “top down” means a measurement at an aggregated level of the economy using statistical data whereas “bottom up” means an adding up of efficiency gains from individual energy efficiency improvement measures.

  4. The alternative approach to measure energy consumption in monetary units, i.e. to assess the energy quantities by energy prices, which was especially followed until the mid 1980s (see e.g. Turvey and Nobay 1965 (pp. 787), Schmitt and Görgen 1981 pp 275, Sweeney 1984 p. 34, Nguyen 1984 p. 103), did not gain general acceptance.

  5. For example, the thermo-dynamical definition of the (energy) efficiency of any heat engine is the ratio of mechanical work that engine performs to the needed input of heat the engine requires (Schwabl 2006, p. 143). A comprehensive overview and discussion of the different concepts of energy efficiency from a thermodynamic and economic perspective also gives Patterson (1996). Similarly, the energy conversion efficiency of machines is given by the ratio between energy input and useful energy output. Clearly, all these formulations define energy efficiency as the ratio between an input and a useful output.

  6. See, for example, Lebot et al. (2004), Moezzi (1998), Pérez-Lombard et al. (2013) and Boonekamp (2006).

  7. This definition is also in line with Directive 2012/27/EU where “energy efficiency” is defined as the ratio of output of performance, service, goods or energy, to input of energy and energy savings (Art. 2(4)) and “energy savings” as an amount of saved energy determined by measuring and/or estimating consumption before and after implementation of an energy efficiency improvement measure. (Art. 2(5)).

  8. Also see the discussions on energy efficiency versus renewable energy sources in Pérez-Lombard et al. (2013) and on the relationship between energy efficiency and renewable energy targets in Harmsen et al. 2014 or Schlomann and Eichhammer 2014.

  9. Similar problems as for the time-dimension occur for cross-country or regional comparisons of energy efficiency (see, e.g. Zhang and Ang 2001).

  10. The economic optimum itself is not uniquely defined but requires further discussion (which is not the scope if the present paper). Different near-economic diffusions could, e.g., be defined with different internal discount rates

  11. In Annex IV, point 1.1. of Directive 2006/32/EC, these methods were defined in a similar way: “Top-down calculation method means that the amount of energy savings is calculated using the national or larger-scale aggregated sectoral levels of energy savings as the starting point”. And “bottom-up calculation method means that energy savings obtained through the implementation of a specific energy efficiency improvement measure are measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), in Joules (J) or in kilogram oil equivalent (kgoe) and added to energy savings results from other specific energy efficiency improvement measures”.

  12. Important methodological issues were especially tackled within the project “Evaluation and Monitoring for the EU Directive on Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services” (EMEEES) (see Eichhammer et al. 2008; Wuppertal Institute 2009; Thomas et al. 2012).

  13. www.odyssee-mure.eu

  14. The principles for baseline setting are discussed generally in Vine (2008) or Staniaszek and Lees (2012). Concrete examples for the setting of the baseline for specific products or energy uses were developed in several case studies which were carried out within the EMEEES project (Wuppertal Institute 2009, Thomas et al. 2012) and partly used in the recommendations for the measurement and verification of energy savings in the framework of the ESD (European Commission 2010).

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  1. Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Breslauer Strasse 48, 76139, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Barbara Schlomann, Clemens Rohde & Patrick Plötz

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  1. Barbara Schlomann
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Correspondence to Barbara Schlomann.

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Schlomann, B., Rohde, C. & Plötz, P. Dimensions of energy efficiency in a political context. Energy Efficiency 8, 97–115 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9280-8

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