The high cost of one of the more expensive versions of the Class A home energy audit
prompted a major utility company to examine two questions that have to date received
surprisingly little careful attention: (1) Does receiving an audit result in more energy
savings than not receiving an audit? (2) Can the energy savings resulting from more
expensive versions of the Class A audit be achieved by less expensive versions? Both
self-reported conservation behavior data and more objective kilo Watt hour consumption
data were collected from subjects over a 12-month period following the audits. These data
indicate that the answer to both of these questions is yes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Booz-Allen-Hamilton, Inc. (1980) Electric and Gas Utility Marketing of Residential Energy Conservation Case Studies. Contract ET-78-C-01-3356 prepared for U.S. Department of Energy, Economic Regulatory Administration, Office of Utility Systems, Washington, DC.
2.
Brownstein, A.B. and P.O. Grace (1981) "Are Class B audits really a residential conservation service option?" Public Utilities Fortnightly (September 24): 28-31.
3.
Campbell, D. and J.C. Stanley (1963) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand-McNally .
4.
Geller, E.S. (1981) "Evaluating energy conservation programs: is verbal report enough?" J. of Consumer Research (December): 331-335.
5.
Grady, S. and E. Hirst (1982) Evaluation of Utility Home Energy Audit Programs: A Wisconsin Example. Report ORNL/CON-88. Oak Ridge, TN : Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
6.
Hirst, E. and P. Lazare (1980) Evaluation of a Computerized Home Energy Audit Program in Minnesota. Contract W-7405-eng-26, Union Carbide Corporation.
7.
Huitema, B.E. (1980) The Analysis of Covariance and Alternatives. New York: John Wiley.
8.
Lazare, P. and E. Hirst (1981) "Class B audits as a residential conservation service option." Public Utilities Fortnightly (May 21): 31-36.
9.
Massachusetts Energy Office (1978) Energy Conservation Analysis Program: Final Evaluation Report. Prepared for the Massachusetts State Employment and Training Counsel, Boston .
10.
Meier, A.K. (1979) "Measuring residential energy conservation," in R. A. Fazzolare and C. B. Smith (eds.) Changing Energy Use Futures (vol. 1). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
11.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (1979) Final Report: Residential Energy Utilization Analysis-Concord Pilot Study Program Evaluation. Report MR-79-7.
12.
Rosenthal, R. (1966) Experimental Effects in Behavioral Research. New York: Appleton-Century-Crafts.
13.
Scheirer, M.A. (1978) "Program participants' positive perceptions: psychological conflict of interest in social program evaluation." Evaluation Q. (February): 53-70.
14.
Seattle City Light (1979) Evaluation of the Seattle City Light Neighborhood Energy Conservation Program. Prepared by M. Olsen and C. Cluett, Battelle Human Affairs Research Center.
15.
Southern California Edison (1983a) Simplified Audit Program. In Conservation and Load Management (vol. 2), a report to the California Public Utilities Commission, Rosemead, CA.
16.
Southern California Edison (1983b) An Evaluation of the New Customer Kit Program. In Conservation and Load Management (vol. 2), a report to the California Public Utilities Commission, Rosemead, CA.
17.
Technology and Economics, Inc. (1978) Survey and Analysis of Residential Audit Activities in the U S. Prepared for the Office of Technology Assessment, Washington, DC.
18.
U.S. Department of Energy (1979) Residential Conservation Service Program: Regulatory Analysis. Washington, DC: Author.
