Economic structure and energy savings from energy efficiency in households

- An empirical model can be used to understand the structural limits of rebound effect.
- Input-output and a re-spending models have been developed for the Catalan case.
- Limitations of Leontief production framework are pointed out for rebound estimates.
- The lower the direct rebound effect, the potentially higher the indirect rebound.
- Indirect rebound effects should be considered when estimating direct rebound effect.

When an energy efficiency improvement occurs at the household level, several mechanisms, grouped under the name of the rebound effect, increase the available income and consumption, increasing the total energy consumption of the economic structure. The present research analyses the links between energy efficiency improvements in households, consumption, and the economic structure in an input-output framework. We examine, from an empirical perspective, the relationship between energy efficiency improvements and the economic structure, and between the direct and the indirect rebound effect. The limits of the input-output methodology in assessing the direct and indirect rebound effect have been empirically tested with respect to efficiency improvements of electricity uses in households in Catalonia.