Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/301920 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
ESRI Working Paper No. 784
Publisher: 
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Dublin
Abstract: 
We study how residential energy efficiency impacts well-being. We propose an innovative framework to assess the effects of investments in energy efficiency through the lens of energy poverty experiences. Leveraging a novel micro-level dataset of Irish households' and buildings' characteristics, we find that improvements in energy efficiency lead to modest improvements in households capacity to afford adequate warmth. These effects are concentrated at the lower end of the energy efficiency and income distributions. Income emerges as the key determinant of energy poverty, while other household characteristics like home ownership also influence risk. Overall, the relationship between energy efficiency and energy affordability appears to be weak. Our results suggest that energy efficiency investments are unlikely to deliver the large welfare and environmental benefits widely expected from them, raising questions about their role in achieving a just energy transition.
Subjects: 
Energy efficiency
energy poverty
well-being
JEL: 
D74
L25
O15
O17
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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