Residential electricity- and water consumption: A study on actor commitment in consumption reduction
Ladda ner
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master Thesis
Master Thesis
Program
Management and economics of innovation (MPMEI), MSc
Publicerad
2019
Författare
Ljungsberg, Anna
Lundin, Jakob
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Residential housing consumes more than one third of Sweden’s electricity and in order to minimise the reliance on fossil fuels, the real estate industry needs to decrease its consumption. Therefore, the aim of this report is to investigate how residential electricity- and water consumption can be reduced. The report analyses products’ and services’ potential in reducing residential electricity- and water consumption as well as Gothenburg residents’ and housing companies’ commitment in consumption reduction. A regression analysis was performed to identify predicting variables and found that resident surface area, number of occupants and heating type are significant predicting factors for electricity consumption. The effects of individual metering and billing on water consumption was analysed and it was found to be a viable initiative for one of the examined areas but for the other area it was only a solution in the short term. It was also found that housing companies reduce consumption by performing renovations and continuous maintenance on their properties and does not interfere with their residents’ consumption behaviour. Residents do not know how much they consume, and housing companies do generally not provide this information if electricity and water is included in the rent. Residents’ initiatives to lower consumption are consequential but not intended and their aspirations are not realised because of inconvenience. Previous research has highlighted the role of price and income in consumption behaviour. These results show that consumption behaviour is to a greater extent affected by information and feedback systems of consumption data. Furthermore, gamified systems have the opportunity of providing real time data and engaging users in consumption reduction with game mechanics.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Transport , Innovation och entreprenörskap (nyttiggörande) , Övrig industriell teknik och ekonomi , Transport , Innovation & Entrepreneurship , Other industrial engineering and economics