Bounded decision making and analytical biases in demand side management

摘要

Demand side management (DSM) programs across the United States commonly approach barriers to energy efficiency through technical/economic means and evaluate their impact through technical/economic analysis. To the extent that non-technical barriers exist and influence decision making, they complicate the expected capture of savings. Two utility DSM projects -- Pacific Gas and Electric's Advanced Customer Technology Test for Maximum Energy Efficiency (ACT(sup 2)) and Bonneville Power Administration's Energy Edge -- serve as case studies to illustrate how non-technical barriers to specific energy-efficiency measures (EEMs) can limit technical conservation potential. An analysis of rejected EEMs suggest that lessons about non-technical barriers to specific energy-efficiency measures (EEMs) can limit technical conservation potential. An analysis of rejected EEMs suggests that lessons about non-technical barriers may be lost or obscured because of the predominant focus on technical/economic criteria over social, institutional, or cultural constraints. These findings support the need for different evaluation methodologies and further social science research devoted to understanding the non-technical barriers confronted by DSM project participants.