Lee, S (2018) Investigating the relationship between energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and the factors affecting them in the United States building sector: A macro and micro view. PhD thesis, Arizona State University, USA.
Abstract
The United States building sector was the most significant carbon emission contributor (over 40%). The United States government is trying to decrease carbon emissions by enacting policies, but emissions increased by approximately 7 percent in the U. S. between 1990 and 2013. To reduce emissions, investigating the factors affecting carbon emissions should be a priority. Therefore, in this dissertation, this research examine the relationship between carbon emissions and the factors affecting them from macro and micro perspectives. From a macroscopic perspective, the relationship between carbon dioxide, energy resource consumption, energy prices, GDP (gross domestic product), waste generation, and recycling waste generation in the building and waste sectors has been verified. From a microscopic perspective, the impact of non-permanent electric appliances and stationary and non-stationary occupancy has been investigated. To verify the relationships, various kinds of statistical and data mining techniques were applied, such as the Granger causality test, linear and logarithmic correlation, and regression method. The results show that natural gas and electricity prices are higher than others, as coal impacts their consumption, and electricity and coal consumption were found to cause significant carbon emissions. Also, waste generation and recycling significantly increase and decrease emissions from the waste sector, respectively. Moreover, non-permanent appliances such as desktop computers and monitors consume a lot of electricity, and significant energy saving potential has been shown. Lastly, a linear relationship exists between buildings’ electricity use and total occupancy, but no significant relationship exists between occupancy and thermal loads, such as cooling and heating loads. These findings will potentially provide policymakers with a better understanding of and insights into carbon emission manipulation in the building sector.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Chong, O |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Granger causality; United States; carbon emissions; cooling; data mining; energy consumption; government; gross domestic product; occupancy; recycling |
| Index terms: | energy consumption, CO2 emissions, consumption, energy-saving, data mining, energy resource, heating load, dissertation, recycling, carbon dioxide, waste generation, gross domestic product, Granger causality test, United States, carbon emission |
| Subjects: | research dissemination and communication, data science, energy systems, Geography, waste management, consumer economics, factor and component analysis, air quality, environmental impact, climate science, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Stakeholder Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here