Barriers to the Use of ESPC in the Private Building Sector: Perception of the A/E/C Commune

Abstract

Analysis of market trend for energy service performance contracting (ESPC) reveals that ESPC is not commonly utilized in the private building sector, despite its growing success in the public sector. Previous study by the authors has identified the major barriers preventing widespread use of ESPC in the private building sector. Subsequently, the present study rank ordered the barriers according to their criticality as perceived by the A/E/C commune. To accomplish the main objectives of the study, survey was employed as main method of data collection. The survey instrument was developed by the authors based on the previously identified barriers and was distributed among the attendees of an international conference of construction education and research held in 2010, as also among the faculty of construction program and staff of facility management department of two universities in the US. Results showed that respondents were fairly familiar with the concept of ESPC and identified the following as some of the most critical barriers: low awareness about ESPC among the private building owners, followed by the lack of transparency between the owner and energy service company regarding estimated savings. The rank order of the barriers presented in this study has serious implications while formulating intervention methods as recognizing the critical barriers will ensure higher effectiveness of the intervention.