Due to the daunting prospect of harmful climate change, policymakers
around the world have been pushing for energetic retrofits in the real estate
markets to reduce their carbon footprint. Despite the common ground and
high ambitions, we still face a vast gap between the modern technical
possibilities of energy efficiency and the slow adoption of these
opportunities in and around our homes. In this paper, we review the main
causes of this energy efficiency gap, ranging from the behavioral economics
of hyperbolic discounting to the non-monetary expenses of refurbishments.
Moreover, we introduce the RentalCAL tool, which is designed to close at
least parts of this gap across Europe. The RentalCAL tool helps landlords of
residential dwellings to assess the financial consequences of energy
efficiency improvements, including investment levels, rent repayment, and
dwellings price appreciation. We discuss the RentalCAL tool configuration,
and demonstrate how different elements can help to alleviate the barriers to
residential energy efficiency.
De Coo, Winfried, Donald Stevens, and Dirk Brounen. "Bridging the Energy Efficiency Gap: The RentalCAL decision-making tool for Rental Housing." In 23rd Annual European Real Estate Society Conference. ERES: Conference. Regensburg, Germany, 2016.
Section: RentalCal