Adoption of energy-efficiency measures in SMEs—An empirical analysis based on energy audit data from Germany

Fleiter, Tobias; Schleich, Joachim; Ravivanpong, Ployplearn

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2012.09.041

Cited by 239 publications

(201 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Within our analyses, the barriers assessed as highest concerned the availability of time and money which somehow reflects the minor priority for energy efficiency compared to core business issues. This confirms the findings of comparable studies in the literature, e.g., Fleiter et al (2012), where high investment costs, other priorities and unprofitable measures were found to be the most important barriers in SMEs or Thollander et al (2007), who investigated less energy-intensive SMEs in the Swedish manufacturing sector and concluded lack of time and the low priority of energy efficiency to be the main barriers. Trianni and Cagno (2012) found lack of time and access to capital as strong barriers, especially in smaller companies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

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Tailoring cross-sectional energy-efficiency measures to target groups in industry

et al. 2018

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The improvement of energy efficiency in industrial companies plays a crucial role for the energy transition. Although significant economic potentials have been identified, the concerned actors are still struggling to realize them fully. To support the implementation of energy efficiency measures by passing policies, a deeper understanding of the barriers affecting different kinds of companies is necessary to better match the options to their needs and requirements. This paper considers companies' characteristics and barriers to draw conclusions on energy efficiency policies and specific recommendations on energy efficiency measures. It recommends compromises for policies between high administrative efforts to design individual solutions for companies and too generic approaches, which are not tackling the specific barriers and companies' characteristics. Our analysis assesses monitoring data of 263 enterprises of the Learning Energy Efficiency Networks LEEN in Germany. The LEEN support energy audits, company networking and assesses implemented energy efficiency measures. Lack of information combined with unfavourable reasoning in decision-making impedes the adoption of profitable measures. Thus, financial policy instruments should aim at promoting long-term decisionmaking. Audits turned out to be an effective information tool and are more common in LEs than in SMEs. Accordingly, the number of implemented measures and the choice of specific measures relate to company size. Regarding barriers to energy efficiency measures, we found financial barriers most prevalent, but there was no general correlation with company size. Moreover, financial restrictions are not necessarily caused by a lack of money, but also by risk aversion or unlikely payback periods. LEs are stronger affected by motivational barriers, especially if the expected organizational effort is high. Reducing transaction costs can increase the willingness to invest greater efforts in energy efficiency measures.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…While several EEMs are already in place in a variety of countries for SMEs (cp. Price and Lu 2011;Fleiter et al 2012;IEA 2015), more tailored programmes are needed to deal with their special needs (Trianni and Cagno 2012;Trianni et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring cross-sectional energy-efficiency measures to target groups in industry

et al. 2018

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“…Thollander et al (2007) found that the largest energy efficiency improvement potential in Project Highland was in the support processes, especially in space heating, and few of the suggested measures in the energy audits were targeting production processes. In a later analysis of the previously mentioned German energy audit program, Fleiter et al (2012) came to the same conclusion that the largest implementation of energy efficiency measures was in the support processes. Furthermore Fleiter et al (2012) also concluded that high investment costs impeded adoption of energy efficiency measures and that lack of capital slows down energy efficiency measure adoption.…”

Section: Energy Audit Programsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Impact after three years of the Swedish energy audit program

Backlund¹,

Thollander²

2015

Energy

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The Swedish energy audit program is a publicly financed program, mainly targeting small and medium-sized firms to help them finance energy audits. By examining suggested and implemented energy efficiency measures from the energy audits conducted in 241 firms in the program, the aim of this paper is to examine the energy efficiency implementation gap and the cost efficiency of the program.The audits show that the firms' average annual energy efficiency improvement potential is between 860 and 1270 MWh/year which corresponds to a total energy efficiency improvement potential of between 6,980 -11,130 MWh / firm. The implementation rate of the suggested energy efficiency improvement measures in the SEAP is 53%. The program has resulted in investments in energy efficiency improvements between € 74,100-€ 113,000 / firm.

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“…However, studies of both energy and water efficiency measures and programs in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere have found technology costs to be an issue, but findings are mixed as to whether cost has been the primary barrier to adoption. [4][5][6][7] This result raises the question: Is the UAE different in this respect, or do other factors contribute to the conclusion that high-efficiency technologies are too expensive?…”

Section: Current Landscape and Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology Costs as a Barrier to Energy and Water Efficiency in the Commercial Sector of the United Arab Emirates

Marinshaw¹,

Gallaher

Alam

et al. 2017

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• Technology cost is perceived to be a primary barrier to the adoption of high-efficiency technologies and practices in the UAE.• A contributing factor is the lack of accurate information on the full range, life-cycle costs, and benefits of high-efficiency products.• Implementing more stringent codes and standards would help drive demand, stimulate the market for more efficient equipment, and lower costs.• Enforcing existing standards would help eliminate poor-quality and inefficient products from the market and change the perception that efficient technologies are too expensive.• Low tariffs and their associated high subsidies distort the costbenefit evaluation of efficient technologies.• Additional research is needed to understand better to what extent and why technology costs are perceived as such a significant barrier.• The government can play a greater role in promoting energy and water technology adoption. This will also require cooperation from the private sector to advance initiatives and ensure their implementation.

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Adoption of energy-efficiency measures in SMEs—An empirical analysis based on energy audit data from Germany

Cited by 239 publications

References 44 publications

Tailoring cross-sectional energy-efficiency measures to target groups in industry

Tailoring cross-sectional energy-efficiency measures to target groups in industry

Impact after three years of the Swedish energy audit program

Technology Costs as a Barrier to Energy and Water Efficiency in the Commercial Sector of the United Arab Emirates

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