A commonly used parameter originates from Hirst and Brown's paper; technically feasible and cost-effective energy efficiency measures that are not used.
It is important to identify and understand those barriers in order to achieve desirable government policy interventions.
[1] Structural barriers result from the actions of public and private organizations, and are usually beyond the control of the individual energy end user.
More stringent environmental regulations and global warming concerns also increase the volatility of fuel prices.
For instance, government support has focused more on energy production, and the profit of electric utilities is a function of sales.
It also takes a long time to adopt and modify standards, which becomes a barrier for energy efficiency technological innovation.
The deployment of energy efficiency technologies is highly restricted by factors such as geography, infrastructure and human resources.
Public's awareness of and attitudes toward energy efficiency could greatly affect their energy-related purchase and consumption behaviors.
The uncertainties of fuel prices and high discount rate for operating costs have both made energy-efficiency investments even more "risky” for many decision makers.
The principal-agent problem and a lack of life-cycle thinking on costs and savings have imposed barriers for energy conservation.
Energy efficiency gap exists in various sectors, ranging from households, small businesses, corporations, and governments.
[6] The first one is generic information applicable to all energy decision, such as forecasts of future energy pricies; the second type of program is to provide comparative information to facilitate technology and product choices, such as product rating and labeling systems; the third type of program is to offer specific recommendations for producers’ and consumers’ investment choices or behavior changes.
This would help improve the energy efficiency of government sector, and the “learning by doing” impact would create early markets for energy-efficient technologies.