Could Gains in Energy Efficiency Cause Increases in Energy Consumption?
I was browsing Reed’s market insights today when this piece on energy efficiency caught my eye. After doing a number of interviews with green building leaders and researching the topic, this article was especially thought provoking. It challenges the conventional wisdom behind many green building practices and policies. Conventional wisdom tells us that one way to decrease the carbon footprint of a building or building project is to increase its energy efficiency. In homes, for example, this translates into energy efficient appliances, the smallest possible HVAC systems, and energy-conscious windows (among many other things!). Building projects might use local materials to help cut fuel usage due to transportation, which is ultimately a form of saving energy. One will notice that much of the green building efforts aim at reducing energy usage through more efficient technologies or practices. There is an economic theory that flies in the face of this conventional wisdom, however. While
