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

Research Report on Phase 4 of Cornell University/Gevity Institute Study Human Resource Management Practices and Firm Performance in Small Businesses: A Look at the Effects of HR Practices on Financial Performance and Turnover

In this study, we found evidence that groups of HR practices that represent different strategies for managing employees were significantly related to the financial performance of small companies. In particular, we found that an employee selection strategy based on person-organization fit, employee management strategy based on self-management, and employee motivation and retention strategy based on creating a family-like environment were all significantly related to firm performance in terms of revenue and profit growth. In addition, we found that the relationships between these HR strategies and firm performance were stronger in firms that face greater competition, are pursuing growth strategies, and are larger in size

A Qualitative Investigation of the Human Resources Management Practices in Small Businesses

This report provides a summary of our findings from the first phase of our study on human resource practices in small businesses based on qualitative interviews with top managers and owners of small businesses. Below we include a brief description of the sample and an explanation of the hurdle that we experienced when using the terms human resource management practices. On the following pages, we report the main findings of the qualitative phase of our study. The findings are organized into three main sections around the areas of management philosophies, employee management practices, and key employee outcomes that link management practices to firm performance. The overall findings from this first report are summarized in a research model depicted in Figure 1. Funding for this research was provided by the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University and Gevity, is a provider of comprehensive human capital management solutions to small and medium-sized businesses

On-chip timing measurement architecture with femtosecond resolution

A new timing measurement architecture based on the time-to-digital conversion technique is presented. The architecture occupies a small silicon area (200x185µm) in a 0.12µm CMOS Process and can achieve tens of femtoseconds timing resolution, which is the highest reported to date

Entrepreneurial Human Resource Strategy

[Excerpt] Entrepreneurship is the process by which opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated, and exploited (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000: 218). In other words, it is the process by which organizations and individuals convert new knowledge into new opportunities in the form of new products and services. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been defined as the system of organizational practices and policies used to manage employees in a manner that leads to higher organizational performance (Wright and McMahan, 1992). Further, one perspective suggests that sets of HR practices do not themselves create competitive advantage; instead, they foster the development of organizational capabilities which in turn create such advantages (Lado and Wilson, 1994; Wright, Dunford, and Snell, 2001). Specifically, this body of literature suggests that HR practices lead to firm performance when they are aligned to work together to create and support the employee-based capabilities that lead to competitive advantage (Wright and Snell, 2000; Wright, Dunford, and Snell, 2001). Thus, entrepreneurial human resource strategy is best defined as the set or sets of human resources practices that will increase the likelihood that new knowledge will be converted to new products or services