Energy Efficiency and Energy Demand: Structural Analysis of Rebound Effects

2017-3-1, Farsi, Mehdi, Hediger, Cécile, Weber, Sylvain

2014, Weber, Sylvain, Farsi, Mehdi

We estimate the rebound effect for private transportation using cross-section micro-level data in Switzerland for 2010. Our simultaneous equations model accounts for endogeneity of travel distance, vehicle fuel intensity and vehicle weight. Compared to the literature, our paper provides an important contribution as micro-level data and simultaneous equations models have seldom been used to estimate the rebound effect. Moreover, among the distance measures we use, one is highly reliable as it was recorded using GIS (Geographical Information System) software. Our results, obtained by 3SLS, point to substantial direct rebound effects between 75% and 81%, which lie at the higher end of the estimates found in the literature. OLS estimates are however much lower and seem to under-estimate the rebound effect.

2016-4-1, Hediger, Cécile

2017-12, Weber, Sylvain, Péclat, Martin

Obtaining the routing distance between two addresses should not be a hassle with current technology. Unfortunately, this is more complicated than it first seems. Recently, several commands have been implemented for this purpose (traveltime, traveltime3, mqtime, osrmtime), but most of them became obsolete only a few months after their introduction or appear complicated to use. In this article, we introduce the community-contributed command georoute, which retrieves travel distance and travel time between two points defined either by their addresses or by their geographical coordinates. Compared with other existing commands, it is simple to use, efficient in terms of computational speed, and versatile regarding the information that can be provided as input.

2019-3, Weber, Sylvain

This paper investigates demand responses to variations in the characteristics of the vehicles. Our investigation is based on number of sales for each model marketed over the period 2006–2015 in Switzerland, and puts particular emphasis on fuel efficiency, curb weight, horsepower, and the potential interactions between these attributes. We find that market shares are significantly higher for more efficient and powerful vehicles, while light cars are preferred to heavy ones. Our results also point to a gradual increase of sensitivity to fuel efficiency over the last decade. However, interaction effects between engine fuel efficiency and power indicate a lower marginal valuation of fuel efficiency in the market segments for relatively powerful cars, hence a lower sensitivity to fuel efficiency among the consumers with the highest potential for polluting emissions. Also, these findings point to potential rebound effects, where consumers give up part of the expected fuel savings by purchasing more powerful vehicles.

2017-6-23, Hediger, Cécile

2018-7, Hediger, Cécile, Farsi, Mehdi, Weber, Sylvain

This paper investigates how households respond to efficiency improvements of their heating system. The analysis is based on the stated preference approach with an innovative choice experiment. The design includes questions to quantify both the direct and indirect rebounds. A series of easy discrete possible changes have been suggested to prime the respondents for deciding on potential actions impacting their heating service demand. Responses to these qualitative choices are moreover used to cross-validate the quantitative results. Overall, we find relatively low direct rebound effects. However, after accounting for the indirect rebound calculated using energy embodied in goods and services purchased by re-spending initial savings, we estimate an average total rebound of about one third. The econometric analysis points to substantial variations across individuals that are partly explained by observed characteristics. The results are consistent with the conjunction that heating is a basic need which calls for little rebound in high-income groups.

2016-7-9, Hediger, Cécile