The Rebound Effect/Jevons Paradox: Not as Strong as Pseudo-Environmentalists Claim

March 15th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan

You would think, intuitively, that energy efficiency is good — it saves us money and is good for the environment. But sometimes things are not as you would intuitively think they are, right? Some have claimed that energy efficiency is one such thing, that energy savings created from greater energy efficiency are offset by resulting increases in demand that cause more energy to be used in the end….

While people may increase usage some after switching to a more energy-efficient technology, research has shown that they don’t do so nearly enough to considerably offset the energy savings. Thus, these people do end up decreasing energy usage, not increasing it.

In other words: energy efficiency is good.

More: Is Energy Efficiency Really Good? (A Look at the “Rebound Effect”)

Photo via jeancliclac

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

Tags: Energy, energy savings, energy usage, energy use, energy-efficient technology, green lighting, jevons paradox, rebound effect

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

NObamaisgoodbama

This one we can agree on.
The so-called Jevons paradox is not a law. it assumes unlimited human consumption. There are limits to human demand and very few limits to technology.
Pingback: Energy Efficiency Rocks — Rebound Effect Overblown
Pingback: How Bad Ideas Keep Rebounding Into Public Discourse: The Rebound Effect and Its Refutation – CleanTechnica: Cleantech innovation news and views
Anderlan

The rebound effect is utterly, head-explodingly stupid. These people clearly must know that. We don’t need to worry about the fact that a think tank is spouting drivel. We need to find out if anyone is believing it, and ask them to think for 5 seconds.
- http://zacharyshahan.com Zachary Shahan
  
  yeah, that was basically the purpose of the article (the latter part) as a number of journalists and blogs just repeat the false theory as if it is valid
wjv

Your analysis of Jevons’ Paradox here is quite misleading… Jevons’ Paradox does not necessarily predict that on an INDIVIDUAL level one will use more energy as technology increases in efficiency (although sometimes it could). No, Jevons wrote in 1865 about how much more coal England was using nationwide even as steam engines became more efficient. His crucial observation was that on a SOCIETAL scale more energy will be used as technology improves in efficiency.

This is because energy efficiency effectively makes energy cheaper. For instance, no one buys gasoline to have the smelly liquid, they buy gasoline so that they can have mobility (via cars). When cars can move you farther for the same amount of gasoline you are basically paying less to move any given distance.

So since the effect of efficiency is reduced price, more people can afford to consume it. This is Jevons’ Paradox; energy efficiency does not necessarily lead to more energy consumption per capita, but it leads to more consumers… many more consumers and therefore MORE NET ENERGY CONSUMPTION. And we see this playing out before our eyes as developing nations (China, India) ramp up their energy consumption.
- http://zacharyshahan.com Zachary Shahan
  
  wjv, i think you are confusing yourself here. if you have a village or city or country using energy more efficiently because they have insulated their homes and changed their light bulbs, that is not going to have such a significant effect that increased energy usage from reduced demand and lower prices is going to outweigh those energy savings. it just doesn’t calculate (follow the links to the true economists’ and statisticians’ analysis of this if you want to look at it in more detail).
  
  we are seeing more energy consumption in developing countries because of their economic growth. don’t forget to account for that crucial detail
Min

What’s a pseudo-environmentalist? Anyone who disagrees with you?

Are you familiar with the No True Scotsman logical fallacy?
- http://zacharyshahan.com Zachary Shahan
  
  No, the Breakthrough Institute, which has been called a=out as such numerous times..