Energy efficiency in the U.S. residential sector: An engineering and economic assessment of opportunities for large energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions

Energy efficiency and conservation is a very promising part of a portfolio of the needed strategies to mitigate climate change. Several technologies and energy efficiency measures in the residential sector offer potential for large energy savings. However, while energy efficiency options are currently considered as a means of reducing carbon emissions, there is still large uncertainty about the effect of such measures on overall carbon savings.;The second part of this thesis deals with a detailed assessment of the potential for white-light LEDs for energy and carbon dioxide savings in the U.S. commercial and residential sectors. Solid-state lighting shows great promise as a source of efficient, affordable, color-balanced white light. Indeed, assuming market discount rates, the present work demonstrates that white solid-state lighting already has a lower levelized annual cost (LAC) than incandescent bulbs and that it will be lower than that of the most efficient fluorescent bulbs by the end of this decade. However, a large literature indicates that households do not make their decisions in terms of simple expected economic value. The present analysis shows that incorporating the findings from literature on high implicit discount rates from households when performing decisions towards efficient technologies delays the adoption of white LEDs by a couple of years.;After a review of the technology, the present work compares the electricity consumption, carbon emissions and cost-effectiveness of current lighting technologies, when accounting for expected performance evolution through 2015. Simulations of lighting electricity consumption and implicit greenhouse gases emissions for the U.S. residential and commercial sectors through 2015 under different policy scenarios (voluntary solid-state lighting adoption, implementation of lighting standards in new construction and rebate programs or equivalent subsidies) are also included.;The first part of this thesis provides a national assessment of the energy efficiency potential in the residential sector under several different scenarios, which include the perspectives of different economic agents (consumers, utilities, ESCOs, and a society). The scenarios also include maximizing energy, electricity or carbon dioxide savings.