This chapter conducts a cross-regional comparative analysis of split incentive effects in residential energy systems, integrating empirical evidence from European housing markets and China’s heating sector. Through survey data of 1,248 households in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, we employ average marginal effects modeling to quantify tenure-based disparities in energy-efficient (EE) technology adoption versus behavioral conservation. Results reveal homeowners exhibit 16.08% higher EE technology adoption rates compared to renters, while the gap narrows to 4.28% for behavioral measures, demonstrating structural misalignment between cost-bearers and benefit-recipients in rental markets. Parallel analysis of China’s northern heating systems using binary choice models exposes more severe incentive distortions: fixed area-based billing reduces residents’ energy-saving probability by 32.6%–42.1% relative to Western Europe’s consumption-based systems, reflecting systemic principal-agent disconnects between heating enterprises and users. The cross-cultural comparison identifies institutional rigidity as a critical moderator-housing market interventions through cost-sharing optimization could address 16% efficiency gaps, whereas metering reforms in centralized heating systems may unlock 42% energy-saving potential. Both contexts confirm split incentives’ robustness across household characteristics and psychological factors. The findings advocate differentiated policy solutions: establishing EE investment compensation mechanisms in rental markets and accelerating heat-meter installation with usage-based pricing in collective heating systems. These institutional innovations aim to reconcile energy transition objectives with behavioral economics realities, offering targeted pathways to mitigate 16–42% efficiency losses caused by incentive misalignments.