End-use efficiency, or "doing more with less", is an important strategy to help meet the challenges posed by an ever-increasing demand for energy services. While improving efficiency has been on the national agenda for some time -- especially following the oil price shocks of the 1970s -- significant opportunities still remain. Furthermore, within some areas, including lighting and HVAC, the costs of upgrading to more efficient technologies can, in some cases, be recuperated within a few years. There are significant barriers that have prevented the widespread adoption of demonstrated efficiency improvement strategies. Barriers include policy distortions, lack of transparency in energy usage and pricing, information gaps, agency issues, financial constraints, and other market inefficiencies. This panel will explore these barriers and will discuss innovative policy, technology, and business approaches to overcoming them, in order to more fully exploit end-use energy efficiency as a resource.
