Academic Press Energy and Behaviour: Towards a Low Carbon Future

Changes to energy behaviour - the role of people and organisations in energy production, use and efficiency - are critical to supporting a societal transition towards a low carbon and more sustainable future. However, which changes need to be made, by whom, and with what technologies are still very much under discussion. This book, developed by a diverse range of experts, presents an international and multi-faceted approach to the sociotechnical challenge of engaging people in energy systems and vice versa. By providing a multidisciplinary view of this field, it encourages critical thinking about core theories, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and policy challenges. It concludes by addressing new areas where additional evidence is required for interventions and policy-making. It is designed to appeal to new entrants in the energy-efficiency and behaviour field, particularly those taking a quantitative approach to the topic. Concurrently, it recognizes ecological economist Herman Daly's insight: what really counts is often not countable. Review Provides a multidisciplinary approach to energy and behaviour, encouraging critical thinking about core theories, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and policy challenges From the Back Cover Changes to energy behaviour the role of people and organisations in energy production, use and efficiency are critical to supporting a societal transition towards a low carbon and more sustainable future. However, which changes need to be made, by whom, and with what technologies are still very much under discussion. This book, developed by a diverse range of experts, presents an international and multi-faceted approach to the sociotechnical challenge of engaging people in energy systems and vice versa. By providing a multidisciplinary view of this field, it encourages critical thinking about core theories, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and policy challenges. It concludes by addressing new areas where additional evidence is required for interventions and policy-making. The work serves both as a primer for new entrants in the energy and behaviour field and a critical resource for researchers, postgraduate students, practitioners, and policy makers. Key Features: ? Introduces the major disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding energy and behaviour ? Delivers a cross-sectoral overview including energy behaviour in buildings, industry, transportation, smart grids, and smart cities ? Reviews a selection of innovative energy behaviour modelling approaches, including agent-based modelling, optimization, and decision support ? Critically addresses the importance of interventions, policies, and regulatory design About the Editors Marta Lopes, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra -Agriculture College (ESAC), and a researcher at the Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), Portugal. Having experience in the implementation of energy efficiency projects in public institutions, her main research interest is the human role in sustainable energy systems, particularly by using integrated approaches. Carlos Henggeler Antunes, PhD, is a professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of the R&D Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), and member of the Coordination Committee of the Energy for Sustainability Initiative, University of Coimbra, Portugal. His main research areas are energy systems and policies, demand response, multi-objective optimization, and multi-criteria decision analysis. Kathryn B. Janda, PhD, is a principal research fellow in organisations and non-domestic buildings at the Energy Institute at University College London, United Kingdom. She studies the role of organisations as both adopters and providers of sustainable innovations, including energy