2-2 Average Energy Consumption Index by State Residential Energy Consumption Indices of the Page 27 37 42 46 47 48 50 51 54 55 56 57 58 70 73 82 1-2 1-3 Page 11 Sample Cover Letter and Report to Homeowner....... 17 Responses as a Percent of Questionnaires Sent 32 33333333 34 40 43 1-8 1-7 Project Conserve Post Survey Interview Ceiling Insulation by Age of Home Topeka....... 51 INTRODUCTION Fifteen percent of the total energy consumed in the United States is used for heating and cooling residential structures. This sector of the national energy profile is projected to continue to grow in absolute volume if not in per cent. It is appropriate, therefore, to consider residential structures as a prime target for energy conservation programs. Although, ultimately, a balance should be struck between actions for existing homes and actions for homes yet to be constructed, rationale exists for centering initial effort on the retrofit of existing homes. The 1970 census indicated that 69% of the 67.7 million year-round housing units counted were single-family structures. This represents a large population with which to work toward optimal energy use. Focusing on single-family homes also provides an opportunity to use existing knowledge and materials to accomplish a variety of energy-conserving actions and yield immediate pay off. Two major obstacles to the success of a retrofit approach to easing the energy demand are immediately identifiable: individual homeowners may be reluctant to commit homeowners, as a group, often lack a workable As a means of attempting to overcome these obstacles, a pilot test in homeowner energy conservation was conducted for the Federal Energy Administration, Energy Conservation and Environment, Buildings R&D Programs, under contract number 14-010001-1676, dated February 26, 1974. The pilot project involved the distribution of questionnaires to selected homes in two cities. The recipients were requested, by letter, to complete voluntarily and return the questionnaire. The returned information described the house, in general, and included specific information about windows, doors and attics. After processing these data, a list of energy conserving retrofit actions was returned to the home owners. An estimate of the cost of each action was provided, both for do-it-yourself materials and for contractor performed services. In addition, an estimate was provided of the volume of fuel to be conserved and the savings in dollars to be expected. The number of years it would take to have the savings pay for the investment was also shown for each suggested action along with a calculated yield on investment. |