1

Teaching Energy Efficiency in post secondary settings: experiences from our Master’s program in Sustainable Energy Policy and Engineering

Alex MallettAssistant Professor

Teaching Energy Efficiency Workshop – York UniversityJuly 17, 2014

2

Overviewo Carleton’s master’s program in Sustainable

Energy Engineering and Policy

o Teaching EE (non technical dimensions) to engineers

o Engineering and Policy student research projects

o Areas of research / expertise on energy efficiency

3

4

SERG 5000 - Sustainable Energy Policy for EngineersGraduate level seminar Non-technical dimensions of understanding actions (or inactions) around technologies / behavioursi) Energy, public policy and government contextii) economic, social and political dimensions of sustainable energyiii) energy policy in Canada and iv) case studies

5

Sustainable Energy Policy for EngineersObjectiveso Foster skills in critical thinking / questioning

assumptionso Understand technologies within larger contexts

– economic, social and political dimensions (moving beyond the ‘university lab to market’ model; historical legacies)

o Barriers / resistance to technology adoptiono Content – energy and policyApproacho Literature-based seminar, debates,

simulations, independent research, applying theories / concepts to ‘real world’

6

General Concepts – supply and demand

7

Public PolicyWHATo Problem, Goals, InstrumentsWHYo Conventional economic theory won’t worko Urgencyo Public goodo ExternalitiesHOWo Governance in Canada

8

Types of reasoning (Policy Drivers) o Role of ideas / values / normativeo Legalo Logicalo Empiricalo Time frame (crises vs. ‘regular’ circumstances)

– energy scares (Langlois-Bertrand)

o “Decision-based Evidence Making”

9

10

Policy instruments (Pal 2013)o Do nothing

o Problem-related, resource-related, precedent-related, self-corrective system rationales

o Act indirectlyo Information, expenditures, regulation

o Act directlyo State agency, state corporation, third party partnership

11

Social Construction of Technology and Policies

12

Koomey – Sorry, Wrong number

13

McKinsey (Meier) carbon abatement cost curve

14

Energy Efficiencyo Sorrell et al 2004 – market / technical barriers

to socio-technical system e.g. hidden costs, information asymmetry, bounded rationality, split incentives, inertia, culture

o the Energy Efficiency Gap (Brown)o Jevons’ Paradox, Rebound effecto Social acceptance, consumer behaviour

15

16

Thaler and Sunstein - Nudge

17

18

19

SERG 5000 – Engineering and Policy student research projectso Interdisciplinary teams (~ 4 students)o New – something that has never been doneo Student-driven projectso Guided by faculty memberso Present to key players in sector (within and

outside of university) end of semester

20

Key EE (or EE + generation) projects (2010-2014):

o Retrofitting of Parliament buildingso EE opportunities for Hall Beach, Nunavuto Heat recovery in buildings in Ottawao Community integrated solar passive design (Ottawa)o Summer peak shift in City of Windsoro Greening of data centreso Green Building Design for Low-income Families

(Toronto)

o BUT also draw from EE experiences e.g. adaptation of HELP program in Toronto (for solar pool pumps in Toronto)

21

EE ResearchMalletto MN Department of Commerce (University of

Minnesota) – barriers and policy options for EE in higher education

o UK-India Phase II research (University of Sussex with TERI) – case study on EE technologies for SMEs

o UNIDO studies on barriers and policy options for industrial EE

22

23

EE Research

Policyo Unlocking the potential of smart grids (with

Meadowcroft, Toner, and others)o Examining policy effectiveness (NBS) and

governance of natural resources (with Auld, Mills, Slater and others)

o Stoney and Hilton – municipal infrastructure

o See carleton.ca/cserc

24

EE ResearchEngineeringo Energy Efficient and Net-Zero Energy

Buildings (Ian Beausoleil-Morrison and Cynthia Cruickshank)

o Solar control and daylighting, Green roofs and occupant behaviour in buildings (Liam O’Brien)

o Building Performance Simulation – (Ian Beausoleil-Morrison)

o Power grid optimization (Craig Merrett)o microgrids (Xiaoya (Kevin) Wang)