Figure 1

Figure 1

  • Optimally spend weatherization funding where it matters most, and
  • Minimize Weatherization Fraud

According to the Weatherization Assistance program Website of the US Department of Energy (DOE), the energy used in the typical low income household is shown in Figure 1. Let’s assume that a typical annual electric bill is $800 per year and a typical annual gas (or fuel oil) bill is $1400 per year.  Additionally, let’s assume that 30% (20%-40% according to many studies) of the space heating energy is lost through the ceiling to the attic.  Combining these sets of assumptions, the distribution of costs for energy and maximum average potential energy savings for a typical low income household would be approximately $311 as shown in the table to the left.

Figure 2

Figure 2

All of these calculations are quite lovely, but when it comes time for a low income family (most likely renters) to pay $300-$1,000 to reduce their energy bill, they will not be able to pay, and many landlords have little or no financial incentives to improve the energy efficiency of the property as long as the cost of energy is passed onto the renters.

Even in those cases where the owners of low-income households own their own home, a lack of disposable income will prevent improvements.

So how can communities, states and the federal government get more “bang for the buck”, now that weatherization problem identification programs are being funded across the nation?

We at RecoverIR believe that each community, utility or state should develop weatherization optimization programs, which will provide the greatest return on investment (ROI), provide metrics to check for contractor fraud, and provide metrics to prioritize the energy effectiveness of various weatherization programs.

We invite you to comment on this short blog posting. All comments are welcomed and encouraged!  Thank you for helping to make America more energy efficient and thank you for helping to reduce the utility bills of those responsible citizens who end up paying for energy theft and inefficient low-income households.