Upgrading Efficiency and Behavior: Electricity Savings from Residential Weatherization Programs

B-Tier
Journal: The Energy Journal
Year: 2016
Volume: 37
Issue: 4
Pages: 1-24

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Residential weatherization programs have become a major component of U.S. energy policy. Through these programs, households receive heavily subsidized energy efficiency upgrades as well as informational and behavioral treatments designed to encourage conservation. While previous work demonstrates that weatherization programs provide sizable energy savings, all have measured the composite effect of efficiency upgrades and behavioral treatments. In this paper, we present the first estimates which disentangle the energy savings provided by each of the individual interventions. Our results reveal that the actual energy savings achieved by the efficiency upgrades are substantially smaller than ex-ante, engineering predictions. Moreover, we present evidence that the energy savings provided by the simple behavioral interventions can exceed the savings resulting from the much more costly efficiency upgrades.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:sae:enejou:v:37:y:2016:i:4:p:1-24
Journal Field
Energy
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25