Rebound Effect
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The rebound effect describes how savings from greater efficiency are partly or wholly offset by increased use. When a device becomes cheaper to operate, people use it more, buy larger versions, or spend the savings on other energy-intensive goods. William Stanley Jevons documented the extreme case, in which more efficient coal engines raised total coal consumption. The qualifier is the strength of the demand response: rebound ranges from a partial offset to backfire, where consumption rises above the original level.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Efficiency caution: ask what people will do with the money and time they save. - Demand side: model how usage changes instead of only the engineering gain. - Net accounting: compare total consumption before and after adoption, not nominal efficiency.
Anchor fast decisions
Efficiency lowers the effective price of a service such as lighting, travel or computation. A lower price raises the quantity demanded, so part of the technical saving is consumed by additional use. When the price effect is strong enough, the new demand outweighs the saving and total consumption rises, which is why engineering efficiency and realised savings diverge.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_effectverified
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