Project

Is the increase of energy efficiency an effective tool to achieve energy and climate policy goals? Or does increased energy efficiency only lead to an increase in consumption and, in consequence, to increased energy consumption, thus only partly or not at all achieving the expected energy savings? What causes such rebound effects and which measures can be found to counteract them?

REBOUND, a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aims to answer these questions with a focus on private households in Germany. The project focuses on rebound effects which describe that actual energy savings resulting from measures to increase energy efficiency can be lower than the expected savings calculated by engineers, due to changes in behavior.

The causes of rebound effects are not well researched yet. Are they mere price and income effects, or do sociological and socio-psychological influencing factors play a role, e.g. the influence of norms or individual beliefs? These sociological and psychological causes in particular could be good approaches in developing measures to minimize rebound effects.