Commercial Building Electricity Consumption Dynamics: The Role of Structure Quality, Human Capital, and Contract Incentives

Matthew Kahn, Nils Kok and John Quigley

No 18781, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Commercial real estate plays a key role in determining the urban sustainability of a metropolitan area. While the residential sector has been the primary focus of energy policies, commercial buildings are now responsible for most of the durable building stock's total electricity consumption. This paper exploits a unique panel of commercial buildings to investigate the impact of building vintage, contract incentives, and human capital on electricity consumption across commercial structures. We document that electricity consumption and building quality are complements, not substitutes. Technological progress may reduce the energy demand from heating, cooling and ventilation, but the behavioral response of building tenants and the large-scale adoption of appliances more than offset these savings, leading to increases in energy consumption in more recently constructed, more efficient structures.

JEL-codes: H23 H41 Q54 Q55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-hrm
Note: EEE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published as Journal of Public Economics Volume 113, May 2014, Pages 1–12 Cover image Carbon emissions from the commercial building sector: The role of climate, quality, and incentives ☆ Matthew E. Kahna, d, , Nils Kokb, , , John M. Quigleyc

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