Obstacles to lower energy consumption in the residential sector : an empirical analysis of the French case.

Summary Reducing the energy consumption of the residential sector is a major stake in the context of the energy transition and the fight against climate change. However, despite the implementation of several dedicated public policies, the energy consumption of the sector has barely decreased in France. Through four empirical articles, this thesis aims to identify some of the barriers to the decrease of the French residential energy consumption with a focus on the role of individual determinants. In the first chapter, we wish to contribute to the literature on the barriers to energy efficiency investment (Sutherland, 1991) and the “energy efficiency gap” (Jaffe and Stavins, 1994). We use the methodology of the discrete choice experiment to assess the role of perceived risk and uncertainty on retrofit quality and energy price as barrier to the energy renovation decision. In the second chapter, we provide an empirical contribution on the role of individual preferences for comfort, other individual determinants and energy performance of dwellings in explaining energy consumption. In the third chapter, we study the energy performance gap (gap between theoretical and real energy consumption at dwelling level) and its drivers by using the quantile regression. Finally, in the fourth chapter, we test the assumption of the existence of a rebound effect for the heating energy consumption in France.