The rebound effect occurs when efficiency gains lead to increased consumption rather than reduced resource use. This phenomenon happens because cost reductions allow consumers to buy more of the improved product or other goods.
William Stanley Jevons published his book The Coal Question on the 1st of January 1865 during the height of the Industrial Revolution. His observation that efficient steam engines caused coal usage to increase became known as the Jevons paradox after decades of academic neglect.
Researchers categorize the magnitude into five distinct types including super conservation zero rebound partial rebound full rebound and backfire scenarios. Super conservation results in negative rebounds below zero percent while backfire scenarios push the ratio above one hundred percent where total resource use increases beyond original levels.
Harry Saunders coined the term Khazzoom-Brookes postulate in 1992 to describe how efficiency gains paradoxically increase total energy use. He modeled this using neoclassical growth theories showing validity over a wide range of economic assumptions.
Low-income households often make thermal sacrifices due to heating costs so any cost reduction leads to significantly higher usage. High-income groups typically set temperatures at optimal comfort levels regardless of expense making further increases unlikely.