Resident engagement strategies in low and zero net energy communities

Panel: 2. Energy efficiency policies: What delivers?

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Claudia Barriga, Western Cooling Efficiency Center - UC Davis, USA
Alan Meier, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, USA
Ben Finkelor, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, USA
Dina Biscotti, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, USA
Nicole Biggart, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, USA
Toshihide Tanaka, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, USA
Natsuko Enomoto, Tokyo Gas Company, Japan

Abstract

Practical Issues in the Design and Operation of Zero Net Energy Communities

Most of the activity related to zero net-energy developments has focused on single buildings, and especially homes. But communities operating with zero net energy goals should be more attractive because they offer economies of scale, benefits from diversity, and alternative sources of capital. We examined seven ZNE communities in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. We focused more on the institutional and behavioral aspects and less on the technologies.

Many of the incentives for occupants to act in a sustainable way are absent in a community where people both live and possibly even work. Energy bills—a traditional means of providing feedback to occupants—are often not present because the cost of renewable energy sources has been rolled into the cost of constructing the community. To a point, the incremental cost of delivered energy is almost zero. Some regions even prohibit a community from assuming the role of a utility and charging occupants for energy use. Instead, very different signals may be used, such as when the community as a whole switches from being a net producer to net importer of energy.

The occupants in an NZE community often differ from those in NZE homes. They sometimes elect to live (or work) in the community for practical reasons unrelated to the goals of the NZE community, such as proximity to a university or convenient transportation. They may be unreceptive—or even antagonistic—to practice vigilance or to reduce energy consumption. Early attention to the occupants and their interactions with those technologies are essential when creating durable behavioral incentives that will function in a community setting.