Economic parameters in the evaluation studies focusing on building energy efficiency : a review of the underlying rationale, data sources, and assumptions

A growing literature has highlighted the variables and parameters that most affect the technical feasibility and the economic viability of the measures meant to improve building energy efficiency. This paper discusses the results of a literature review, which focuses on the studies that deal with three economic parameters: the price to be paid for the energy supply, the energy inflation rate, and the discount rate used to convert future cash flows to a present value, namely, an upfront lump-sum equivalent. A specific co-occurrence analysis of terms is performed on the titles and abstracts of the examined documents. The representation of the results allows recognizing several significant clusters and network relationships. Moreover, that literature review enables to identify two well-established research strands. The first involves the relationship between energy prices and the profitability of efficiency-related investments. The second research branch points at the pivotal role played by the discount rate when evaluating the investments in energy-efficient measures

Empirical analysis and classification of database errors in Scopus and Web of Science

In the last decade, a growing number of studies focused on the qualitative/quantitative analysis of bibliometric-database errors. Most of these studies relied on the identification and (manual) examination of relatively limited samples of errors. Using an automated procedure, we collected a large corpus of more than 10,000 errors in the two multidisciplinary databases Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), mainly including articles in the Engineering-Manufacturing field. Based on the manual examination of a portion (of about 10%) of these errors, this paper provides a preliminary analysis and classification, identifying similarities and differences between Scopus and WoS. The analysis reveals interesting results, such as: (i) although Scopus seems more accurate than WoS, it tends to forget to index more papers, causing the loss of the relevant citations given/obtained, (ii) both databases have relatively serious problems in managing the so-called Online-First articles, and (iii) lack of correlation between databases, regarding the distribution of the errors in several error categories. The description is supported by practical examples concerning a variety of errors in the Scopus and WoS databases

Economic viability of building energy efficiency measures: a review on the discount rate

How does the issue of the discount rate intersect the research on building energy efficiency and the topics into which it has branched? This contribution tries to answer the previous question through a comprehensive review of related studies. Those studies usually rely on two alternative assumptions. The first refers, explicitly or implicitly, to the notion of cost of capital and, hence, to the position of private stakeholders involved in the decision processes focusing on the adoption of energy-efficient measures in buildings. The second assumption relates to the notion of the social discount rate, which is meant to pursue intergenerational equity and environmental sustainability. As far as the results are concerned, the literature agrees that the discount rate is among the key parameters\u2014possibly the most prominent\u2014affecting the evaluation. However, despite the crucial role it plays, its calculation seldom relies on acknowledged methods and models. Furthermore, data sources sometimes lack consistency and accuracy. Some guidance and suggestions are provided as to the improvement of the discount rate estimation