ALERT: This system is being upgraded on Tuesday December 12. It will not be available
for use for several hours that day while the upgrade is in progress. Deposits to DukeSpace
will be disabled on Monday December 11, so no new items are to be added to the repository
while the upgrade is in progress. Everything should be back to normal by the end of
day, December 12.
EVALUATING ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A DOMESTIC SOLAR HOT WATER PROGRAM IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA
Abstract
Energy efficient technologies are a major tool for reducing electricity usage as well
as
greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, serious market barriers impede the diffusion
of these
solutions. Many utilities offer programs and incentives to surmount these barriers.
However,
few empirical studies exist that quantitatively document the impacts of such initiatives.
This
project investigates a utility rebate program aimed at encouraging the adoption of
domestic solar
hot water (DSHW) systems in northeast Florida residences. Four years of household
consumption, temperature, and one year of block group level demographic data is analyzed
using
multiple and multilevel, or hierarchical, regression analysis techniques. Four estimators
are
developed to estimate the causal impact of the program. The first estimator utilizes
a random
selection of non-participating households within the utility’s service territory and
a subset of
participating households for that year to establish control and treatment groups.
The remaining
estimators represent a random effects model, a fixed effects model, and a mediating
multilevel
model of the causal effect of the program for the years 2003 through 2006, respectively.
These
latter models derive control and treatment groups from pre- and post-treatment cohorts
of
program participants. Each estimator exhibits particular strengths and weaknesses.
In aggregate,
they provide a bound for the average impact of DSHW technology on monthly household
electricity consumption. The results of this analysis indicate a direct causal relationship
between
the adoption of DSHW and energy savings. In particular, it estimates a statistically
significant
reduction in monthly electricity consumption ranging from 71 to 118 kWh for the average
household, corresponding to 3-8% of total usage. Finally, economic and environmental
policy
implications of these results are considered and indicate that financial incentives
as well as other
strategies are necessary to aid the diffusion of DSHW technologies.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/276Citation
Moore, Ben (2007). EVALUATING ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A DOMESTIC SOLAR HOT WATER PROGRAM IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA.
Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/276.Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info