IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v131y2024ics0140988324000446.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Heterogeneous impacts of building codes on residential energy demand

Author

Listed:
  • Aydin, Erdal

Abstract

In this study, we assess the tangible effects of building energy efficiency standards, a prevalent residential energy efficiency policy globally. Employing comprehensive household-level data (N=84,864) from Turkey, we analyze the heterogeneous impacts of building codes on the energy consumption of houses equipped with diverse heating technologies. Our findings reveal that, on average, building codes result in an approximate six percent reduction in heating energy demand for houses constructed after the regulation. Notably, this effect is statistically significant solely for homes featuring collective central heating systems within multi-family buildings. Conversely, the policy has no significant impact on energy demand for houses using stoves, individual boilers, or electricity-based heating systems. We suggest that the aforementioned outcome may be partially attributed to potential “rebound” and “pre-bound” effects stemming from the decreased heating costs in newer dwellings. Moreover, the observed influence on dwellings equipped with collective central heating systems can be attributed to the compulsory installation of individual meters in newer constructions. This incentivizes households to limit their energy consumption when compared to older properties where heating costs are distributed evenly among residents. These findings underscore the importance of behavioral interventions in shaping effective energy-saving policies. In conclusion, our results suggest that the effectiveness of residential energy efficiency policies may vary across countries, contingent on the distribution of heating systems in the building sector and a country’s economic development level.

Suggested Citation

  • Aydin, Erdal, 2024. "Heterogeneous impacts of building codes on residential energy demand," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:131:y:2024:i:c:s0140988324000446
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107336
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988324000446
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107336?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Davis, Lucas W. & Martinez, Sebastian & Taboada, Bibiana, 2020. "How effective is energy-efficient housing? Evidence from a field trial in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    2. Erdal Aydin & Nils Kok & Dirk Brounen, 2017. "Energy efficiency and household behavior: the rebound effect in the residential sector," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 48(3), pages 749-782, August.
    3. Vine, Edward L., 1996. "Residential building code compliance: Implications for evaluating the performance of utility residential new construction programs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 21(12), pages 1051-1058.
    4. Kevin Novan & Aaron Smith & Tianxia Zhou, 2022. "Residential Building Codes Do Save Energy: Evidence from Hourly Smart-Meter Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(3), pages 483-500, May.
    5. Meredith Fowlie & Michael Greenstone & Catherine Wolfram, 2018. "Do Energy Efficiency Investments Deliver? Evidence from the Weatherization Assistance Program," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1597-1644.
    6. Grant D. Jacobsen & Matthew J. Kotchen, 2013. "Are Building Codes Effective at Saving Energy? Evidence from Residential Billing Data in Florida," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 34-49, March.
    7. Chris Bruegge & Tatyana Deryugina & Erica Myers, 2019. "The Distributional Effects of Building Energy Codes," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(S1), pages 95-127.
    8. Anin Aroonruengsawat, Maximilian Auffhammer, and Alan H. Sanstad, 2012. "The Impact of State Level Building Codes on Residential Electricity Consumption," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    9. J. Daniel Khazzoom, 1987. "Energy Saving Resulting from the Adoption of More Efficient Appliances," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 85-89.
    10. Matthew J. Kotchen, 2017. "Longer-Run Evidence on Whether Building Energy Codes Reduce Residential Energy Consumption," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 135-153.
    11. Pan, Wei & Garmston, Helen, 2012. "Compliance with building energy regulations for new-build dwellings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 11-22.
    12. Arik Levinson, 2016. "How Much Energy Do Building Energy Codes Save? Evidence from California Houses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(10), pages 2867-2894, October.
    13. Sorrell, Steve & Dimitropoulos, John & Sommerville, Matt, 2009. "Empirical estimates of the direct rebound effect: A review," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1356-1371, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hadush Meles, Tensay & Farrell, Niall & Curtis, John, 2023. "Are energy performance certificates a strong predictor of actual energy use? Evidence from high-frequency thermostat panel data," Papers WP749, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    2. Davis, Lucas W. & Martinez, Sebastian & Taboada, Bibiana, 2020. "How effective is energy-efficient housing? Evidence from a field trial in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    3. Hancevic, Pedro I. & Sandoval, Hector H., 2022. "Low-income energy efficiency programs and energy consumption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    4. Davis, Lucas & Martinez, Sebastian & Taboada, Bibiana, 2018. "How Effective is Energy-efficient Housing?: Evidence From a Field Experiment in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8767, Inter-American Development Bank.
    5. Lang, Ghislaine & Lanz, Bruno, 2022. "Climate policy without a price signal: Evidence on the implicit carbon price of energy efficiency in buildings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Matthew J. Holian, 2023. "Methods in open policy analysis: An application to California's building energy codes," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(4), pages 613-628, October.
    7. Aydin, Erdal, 2016. "Energy conservation in the residential sector : The role of policy and market forces," Other publications TiSEM b9cedba8-1310-4097-90fb-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Aydın, Erdal & Brounen, Dirk & Ergün, Ahmet, 2023. "The rebound effect of solar panel adoption: Evidence from Dutch households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    9. Singhal, Puja & Pahle, Michael & Kalkuhl, Matthias & Levesque, Antoine & Sommer, Stephan & Berneiser, Jessica, 2022. "Beyond good faith: Why evidence-based policy is necessary to decarbonize buildings cost-effectively in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Carattini, Stefano & Figge, Béla & Gordan, Alexander & Löschel, Andreas, 2024. "Municipal building codes and the adoption of solar photovoltaics," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    11. Germeshausen, Robert & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Achtnicht, Martin, 2022. "Does the stick make the carrot more attractive? State mandates and uptake of renewable heating technologies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    12. Estévez, Andrés & Tovar Reaños , Miguel, 2024. "Empowering homes? Unravelling the connection between energy efficiency and well-being," Papers WP784, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    13. Christensen, Peter & Francisco, Paul & Myers, Erica & Shao, Hansen & Souza, Mateus, 2024. "Energy efficiency can deliver for climate policy: Evidence from machine learning-based targeting," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    14. Aydin, Erdal & Brounen, Dirk, 2019. "The impact of policy on residential energy consumption," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 115-129.
    15. Coyne, Bryan & Lyons, Sean & McCoy, Daire, 2016. "The Effects of Home Energy Efficiency Upgrades on Social Housing Tenants: Evidence from Ireland," Papers WP544, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    16. Papineau, Maya, 2017. "Setting the standard? A framework for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of building energy standards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 63-76.
    17. Bourgeois, Cyril & Giraudet, Louis-Gaëtan & Quirion, Philippe, 2021. "Lump-sum vs. energy-efficiency subsidy recycling of carbon tax revenue in the residential sector: A French assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    18. Coyne, Bryan & Denny, Eleanor, 2021. "Retrofit effectiveness: Evidence from a nationwide residential energy efficiency programme," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    19. Myers, Erica, 2020. "Asymmetric information in residential rental markets: Implications for the energy efficiency gap," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    20. Benjamin Volland, 2016. "Efficiency in Domestic Space Heating: An Estimation of the Direct Rebound Effect for Domestic Heating in the U.S," IRENE Working Papers 16-01, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy efficiency; Building codes; Energy consumption; Residential sector; Collective central heating;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:131:y:2024:i:c:s0140988324000446. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.