Decade of Residential Energy Research: Some New Directions and Some Speculations About the Future

摘要

In October 1983, on the Tenth Anniversary of the Arab Oil Embargo, a conference was held at Michigan State University, sponsored by the Institute for Family and Child Study, College of Human Ecology, entitled ''Families and Energy: Coping with Uncertainty.'' The Conference explored what research had been done to examine residential energy, its use and changes in the 10 years since the fateful embargo. The conference examined a number of research issues from effectiveness of educational programs, to technological adoption, to attitude and behavioral adoption to the energy situation, including the impact of increasing energy prices and its impact on various groups. Aspects of equity and innovation, as well as adoption, were considered. Referred papers from 50 prominent energy researchers from universities, institutes, laboratories, utilities, and state and federal energy agencies were presented that described the state-of-the-art in residential energy research nationally, internationally, and cross-culturally. The intent of this paper is to summarize what the major findings were, what measurements were used, and further, what the future goals in residential energy research must be in order to reach an understanding of the determinants of energy efficiency in the residential sector of the economy. (ERA citation 11:009088)