Mid Sweden University

The purpose of this study is to identify and categorise the current knowledge of energy-efficient policies in the building sector and whether they are sufficient to facilitate the achievement of absolute environmental goals, as well as their connection with the Rebound Effect. A Systematic Review was conducted in this study which included a search strategy, study selection with inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, quality assessment and synthesis. Finally, 38 articles were selected for use and analysis in this study. The selected articles highlight factors that influence policy and the connection with the Rebound Effect. These factors are summarised in this report and include a categorisation of the challenges. Stricter policies, government intervention, collaboration between different actors and sectors, the link between the Rebound Effect and technology, behaviour and economics, awareness and knowledge, unclear definitions, insufficient data, and inequity are among other factors that are affected by the Rebound Effect and need to be taken into account when designing policies. From the knowledge identified and the challenges categorised it can be concluded that policy adjustments implemented to improve energy efficiency need to go alongside with policies securing to mitigate the Rebound Effect. These findings can as a first step globally support policy makers to develop particular policies in this area and to implement relevant measures.