Reducing Energy Consumption in Low-Income Homes

Abstract

The 26 local Community Action Agencies in Minnesota administer a federal program to audit and retrofit homes occupied by low-income households. This program seeks to improve the thermal performance of these homes and thereby reduce the economic hardship faced by these households because of high and rising fuel prices. A key question concerns the actual energy savings that can be attributed to the program. The work reported here involved collection and analysis of fuel consumption records from low-income households throughout Minnesota. Data were obtainedfrom 59 households that had received weatherization services and from 37 households that had not yet been weatherized. Comparisons offuel consumption across the two groups for the 1976-1977 and 1977-1978 winters showed that the average saving due to weatherization was 13% of total household energy use. Based on fuel prices that prevailed in 1979, the cost of weatherization is likely to be repaid with lower fuel bills in 3-4 years.