Evaluation of the Washington State Weatherization Assistance Program

Schweitzer, M.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

关键词: Energy Consumption;    Residential Buildings;    Weatherization;    Washington;    Cost Benefit Analysis;   

DOI  :  10.2172/777613
RP-ID  :  ORNL/CON-478
RP-ID  :  AC05-96OR22464
RP-ID  :  777613

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Since 1976, the national Weatherization Assistance Program has been working to improve the energy efficiency of dwelling units occupied by low-income residents. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and implemented by state and local agencies, the program is active in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This report focuses on the recent outcomes of Washington State's weatherization efforts. The performance of the Washington Weatherization Program is of interest because few evaluations have been performed in this part of the country and because Washington contains a high proportion of electrically-heated houses, which have received relatively little examination in the past. This study, which calculates the magnitude of energy savings for both electrically-heated and gas-heated houses and compares program benefits and costs, was initiated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the summer of 1998. In conclusion, we find that the Washington State Weatherization Assistance Program has achieved substantial energy savings in both electrically-heated and gas-heated houses. A comparison of the findings from this study with those from many other evaluations of state weatherization efforts conducted over the past 10 years indicates that Washington is in the top one-third nationwide in terms of program-induced energy savings. In addition, the relationships between energy savings and both pre-weatherization consumption and weatherization expenditures reported in this document are consistent with the findings from earlier studies. These findings suggest that households with high energy consumption make effective targets for state weatherization efforts and that increasing the amount spent per household yields tangible returns in terms of energy savings.