Low rates of free-riding in residential energy efficiency retrofit grants. ESRI Research Bulletin, 2018/04

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the Better Energy Homes (BEH) grant scheme to encourage households to invest in residential energy efficiency retrofits. All grant schemes are subject to free-riders, where a proportion of those being grant-aided would have undertaken the activity (i.e. energy efficiency retrofits) in the absence of any grant aid, which is often referred to as deadweight loss. This research finds that just 7% of participants in the BEH scheme would have undertaken a retrofit even in the absence of grant aid, and a further 8% would have occurred with a lower level of grant aid than was available. These free-rider rates are very low compared to similar schemes internationally, which have free-riding rates ranging from 40% to as much as 96%. Free-rider rates vary by retrofit type, lowest for households investing in solar panels and highest for those investing in central heating controls. Of households that received grant aid for heating controls only, 33% were estimated as free riders (i.e. would have invested in absence of the grant) and a further 27% would have undertaken a retrofit with a lower level of grant aid. The analysis also estimates how much households are willing to pay for certain types of energy efficiency retrofit improvements. For retrofits that specifically improve the efficiency of energy used for space and water heating (e.g. boiler upgrades, heating controls) estimated willingness-to-pay equals €0.127/kWh/yr. Households that have previously undertaken an energy efficiency upgrade are willing to pay twice this amount. Additionally, households in the least energy efficient properties (i.e. properties with the greatest potential energy efficiency gains) are willing to pay less for retrofits than households in more energy efficient properties

Return on energy efficiency investments in rental properties. ESRI Research Bulletin 2018/6

Generally, residential tenants do not invest in energy efficiency, as the upkeep of rental properties is usually the landlord’s responsibility. This research, which is based on a survey of tenants, finds that up to half of rental tenants are willing to pay more for properties with higher levels of energy efficiency. Of rental tenants willing to pay for better energy efficiency, on average they are willing to pay €38 per month extra in rent for a 1-grade improvement in the 15-grade Building Energy Rating (BER) scale for their existing rental properties. How much extra rent tenants are willing to pay varies across a number of circumstances but the factor that had the largest impact is information; information related to BER ratings and the potential savings in energy costs associated with better BER grades. Information on the BER rating scheme and the associated potential energy cost savings have two impacts on tenants’ willingness to pay for energy efficiency improvements. First, with additional information explaining BERs, including what a BER rating measures and how much a grade improvement along the BER scale can affect energy costs more tenants were willing to pay additional rent for energy efficiency improvements, rising from 38% of our survey sample to 55%. Second, the extra rent that tenants were willing to pay for a 1-grade BER improvement declined from €47/month to €38/month. This decline in willingness to pay occurs even among respondents that were willing to pay an additional rent of €47/month prior to learning more about BERs and associated potential energy cost savings. So, a higher proportion of tenants were willing to pay some extra rent for energy efficiency improvements but the amount that they are willing to pay declines, on average. This reduction in willingness to pay implies that in the absence of a good understanding of the potential energy cost savings associated with BER improvements tenants overvalue energy efficiency labels. A substantial minority of tenants are unwilling to pay additional rent for energy efficiency improvements, between 45% and 62% in our sample. The predominant reason tenants indicated why they were unwilling to pay was that they could not afford higher rents. This reflects the current property market in Ireland with high rental rates. When the extra rent that tenants are willing to pay is compared to the cost of associated energy efficiency improvements, the investment payback periods for most retrofit types (e.g. attic and cavity wall insulation, heating system upgrades) are relatively short. For the most energy inefficient properties (BER grades D-G) the investment payback periods are between 1 – 3 years when the Sustainable Energy Authority’s (SEAI) energy efficiency retrofit grant is included, whereas the payback period of more energy efficient properties (BER grades A-C) averages between 2 – 4 years. Payback periods for retrofits comprising external wall insulation or solar panels are substantially longer

A Tentative Guidance Program for the Kealing Junior High School Austin, Texas

It is the purpose of this study to answer the following questions: 1. What is the plan of guidance organization in the Kealing Junior High school, Austin, Texas? 2. Is the guidance program integrated with the program of studies? 3. Is the program incidental or a vital part of the school life? 4. What guidance services are offered? 5. How is the study of pupil personnel conducted? 6. To what extent does the guidance program aid the pupil in the following: a. Orientating himself vocationally? b. discovering and developing special talents? c. developing hobby interests as training in worthy use of leisure time? d. enabling him to succeed in formal school work

Mesoscale Variability of the California Current

LONG-TERM GOALS: My long-term goal is to understand the kinematics and dynamics of the California Current System. I am particularly interested in the structure of the inshore flow and the interannual, seasonal, and mesoscale variability that occurs off Central California. I feel that this knowledge can be applied to other Eastern Boundary currents and to naval warfare in these regions

An Examination of the Abandonment of Applications for Energy Efficiency Retrofit Grants in Ireland. ESRI WP533. May 2016

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operates the Better Energy Homes (BEH) grant scheme to incentivise residential energy efficient retrofits, an ongoing scheme which was implemented in 2009. This scheme provides a financial incentive for home owners to engage in energy efficient retrofits, provided the upgrades meet appropriate energy efficiency standards. This study analyses the BEH data, which is comprised of all applications from March 2009 to October 2015, in order to examine the extent to which applications are abandoned and the determinants thereof. We find that more complicated retrofits are more likely to be abandoned, with variation across certain retrofit measure combinations. We find lower probabilities of abandonment among certain obligated parties, who are energy retailers obliged by the State to reduce energy consumption in Ireland, while others possess greater likelihoods of abandonment, relative to private retrofits. We find that newer homes are less likely to abandon an application than older homes, as are applications made for apartments, relative to houses. Regional variations exist in abandonment, with rural households more likely to abandon than urban households. A seasonal trend in abandonment is also present, with higher likelihoods of abandonment among applications made during winter

Can tenants afford to care? Investigating the willingness-to-pay for improved energy efficiency of rental tenants and returns to investment for landlords. ESRI WP565, June 2017

Throughout the developed world, residential buildings in the rental sector exhibit lower levels of energy efficiency than the owner-occupied building stock. A double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method is used to examine how much renters are willing to pay in their monthly rent for improved energy efficiency, measured via energy performance certificates. The results of this analysis are used to examine the returns to investment available to landlords for various measures. Using an administrative dataset of residential retrofits, we examine the upfront cost to landlords of engaging in energy efficiency retrofits of varying depths and calculate the relevant payback period. Conditional upon possessing a non-zero willingness-to-pay, we find that tenants in Ireland are willing to pay an average of over €40 for each one-grade improvement in their accommodation's Building Energy Rating. We find short payback periods for attic and cavity wall insulation and prohibitively long payback periods for external wall insulation and solar heating

An Examination of Energy Efficiency Retrofit Depth in Ireland. ESRI WP532. May 2016

This study examines energy efficiency retrofit depth in Ireland using data from a national residential grant scheme for energy efficiency upgrades. We specifically examine both the number of retrofit measures adopted per dwelling, and also the comprehensiveness of retrofits upgrades, which are retrofits in excess of the most common and simple retrofit combinations. We find that certain obligated parties, who are obliged by the State to reduce energy consumption in Ireland, vary both positively and negatively in terms of number of retrofit measures relative to private retrofits, but perform negatively with regard to comprehensive retrofits. All parties are found to perform negatively with regard to comprehensive retrofits, relative to private applications. Newer homes, relative to older homes are more likely to invest in more retrofit measures but less likely to engage in more comprehensive retrofits. Regionally, homes in the Greater Dublin Area are less likely to undertake more retrofit measures but more likely to engage in more comprehensive retrofits, while the opposite is true of rural areas. A seasonal trend also exists, with applications made during autumn and winter much less likely to be made for more comprehensive retrofits. Demand for more measures and more comprehensive retrofits does not appear to be affected by financial incentives as the introduction of a bonus for three- and four-measure retrofits has not coincided with any increases in the demand for such retrofits

An examination of energy efficiency retrofit depth in Ireland. ESRI Research Bulletin 2016/2/5

As part of an ongoing series of energy efficiency directives from the European Union, Ireland is obliged to promote energy efficiency and achieve a targeted reduction in energy consumption of 20% by 2020. One means of contributing to this reduction is to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s building stock. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland administers the Better Energy Homes (BEH) scheme, which provides grant aid to homeowners for residential energy efficiency improvements

Advertising and investment spillovers in the diffusion of residential energy efficiency renovations. ESRI WP569, August 2017

This paper examines the diffusion of energy efficiency retrofits across the national housing stock and specifically examines whether the level of applications for subsidy support is impacted by advertising, either online or through print and radio media, and whether there are spillover effects from prior investments in retrofits on new retrofit subsidy applications. While there are numerous drivers of household retrofitting activities, the focus here is specifically on advertising and spillover effects. The analysis employs a Bass growth model using a subsidy scheme administrative dataset from Ireland. The research finds that some but not all advertising related to a retrofit subsidy scheme increases the level of scheme applications and also that there are spillover effects from a niche retrofit scheme targeting communities (covering both private and community buildings) on private applications for energy efficiency subsidy support

Comparative Cost‐effectiveness of Alternative Empiric Antimicrobial Treatment Options for Suspected Enterococcal Bacteremia

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107482/1/phar1393.pd