Non-energy benefits of the US Weatherization Assistance Program: a summary of their scope and magnitude

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the findings reported recently in the literature on non-energy benefits attributable to the weatherizing of low-income homes. Non-energy benefits are divided into three major categories: (1) ratepayer benefits; (2) household benefits; and (3) societal benefits. The ratepayer benefits can be divided into two main subcategories: payment-related benefits and service-provision benefits. Similarly, there are two key types of household benefits: those associated with affordable housing and those related to safely, health and comfort. Societal benefits can be classified as cither environmental, social, or economic. Our study found the total lifetime value for all non-energy benefit-categories to be $3346 (in 2001 dollars) per household, which is slightly greater than the average value of energy savings for houses heated by natural gas, and substantially higher than the total cost per low-income weatherization. Societal benefits were much larger than either ratepayer or household benefits.