Deep renovation, is seen as crucial in dealing with energy security and meeting climate targets, especially in post-Soviet countries with notoriously energy-inefficient residential housing stock. One critical question is whether these retrofits can achieve the energy savings promised by the engineering model. This paper assesses the energy performance gap–the discrepancy between realized energy savings and the predictions of engineers at the building level. In contrast to previous studies, we find that, on average, the predicted savings are fully realized for a retrofit programme of multi-apartment buildings in Lithuania. Among other factors, we consider how the differences in the energy performance gap for each building can be explained by energy efficiency measures, targeted energy class, and the type of multi-apartment building management. Interestingly, we find that multi-apartment buildings managed by outsourced specialized housing management companies tend to realize higher energy savings than buildings managed by communities of apartment owners.

In this field experiment, we investigate the spillover effects of real-time social comparison information provided via in-home displays on residential water and energy consumption. We find that social comparisons targeted at electricity use induce conservation beyond electricity, leading to substantial reductions in energy use for water and space heating. Meanwhile, social comparisons targeted at water use induce little or no effects on electricity, water, and space heating consumption. We argue that the differences in the direct and spillover effects of the two treatments can be explained by the differences in preexisting social norms and moral dissonance. The analysis of the heterogeneity of spillover effects reveals that the observed effects are more pronounced among households at the higher percentiles of resource use. Overall, our results suggest that spillover effects on resource use could be as large as the direct effects of behavioral interventions if there are strong, preexisting social norms to conserve the targeted resource.

The chapter delves into the importance of enhancing energy savings within the residential sector of the European Union (EU) as a strategic measure to curb energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It mainly focuses on energy saving potential in the residential space heating domain. The chapter explores the market and behavioral barriers to investing in energy-efficient buildings that prevent the full realization of energy-saving potential. It reviews energy efficiency policies at the EU and national member state levels that potentially address these barriers, and it overviews ex-post studies that evaluate the potential effectiveness of these policies.

Retrofit programs for old and highly energy-inefficient housing stock from the Soviet era are widely believed to offer a rare win-win opportunity for mitigating climate change and addressing acute energy poverty issues in Eastern European urban neighborhoods. However, despite government subsidies and a push for greater energy efficiency, many people do not undertake retrofits. This raises the question: do these retrofits truly deliver the promised returns? This paper aims to examine the effects of retrofit programs on old Soviet-era multi-apartment buildings' realized dynamic energy savings in Lithuania by analyzing monthly energy bills. Our findings suggest that retrofits are associated with a 50% to 59% reduction in average space heating consumption across various post-retrofit periods. Additionally, retrofits have a short-term effect on electricity savings of 3% to 3.6%. However, our cost-benefit analysis indicates that the energy savings were not sufficiently large to cover the initial investment costs.