
Audit process

Customer survey results

Study of audited homes

Conclusions / recommendations

Respond within two days

Audit within two weeks


1 – 1.5 hours in the home + ~1 hour
to write up report
Email report and supplements
within two days




2007 – 2010: 500 homes audited (2.4% of
the 21,000 residential accounts)
226 in 2010
155 from City + 60 from Energy Fair + 11
direct
215 homeowners + 8 renters + 3
landlords

Interview




Give box of CFL’s
Issues and concerns
Problems, usage habits
Answer questions (counter
misperceptions and marketing hype)

Inspection / data-gathering

Blower door test (air infiltration /
leakiness)

Write up and deliver report

Audit report:
 Emphasize cost-effectiveness and
comfort (but also mention
environmental benefits)
 Does not include:
- data on annual kWh and therms
usage, with tons of CO2 equivalent
- qualitative comparison to average
usage in Ames

Audit report:
 Does not include:
Your Annual Energy Cost 5/1/09 - 5/1/10
Water heating
(nat. gas) $400
Lights (elec.):
140
Cooking (elec.):
$80
Refrigerator
(elec.): $100
Other (elec.):
$140
Air
conditioning
(elec.): $100
Space heating
(nat. gas): $1,040
Total annual energy cost = $2,000






Mailed to all customers, two to nine months after
receiving audit
55 – 60% returned
Did the audit address all of the possible questions and issues
that you hoped it would? 4.75 / 5
Overall, were you satisfied with the quality of the energy
audit? 4.88 / 5
What improvements have you made? 33% none; 33%
minor; 33% significant
Do you intend to make additional improvements in the near
future? 66% yes
Infiltration
(Leakiness)
1.20
1.00
0.80
Air Changes
per Hour
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
House Number
Ave. Ames Residential Annual Energy Cost
Cooking
(usually elec.):
$80
Water heating
(usually nat.
gas) $400
Lights (elec.):
140
Refrigerator
(elec.): $100
Other (elec.):
$140
Air
conditioning
(elec.): $100
Space heating
(almost
always nat.
gas): $1,040
Total annual energy cost = $2,000
0.60
0.50
0.40
Space heating
(Therms
per
square
foot of
house size)
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
House Number
Homes heated with natural gas
9,000
8,000
7,000
Annual
6,000
Electrical
Consumption
(Kwh / person5,000
/ year)
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
House Number
1. Natural gas usage: less variable, more dependent
upon “hard fixes” and less discretionary
2. Electrical usage: widely variable, more dependent
upon habits and choices (more discretionary)  more
opportunities for lowering
3. In general, people are quite misinformed about the
most cost-effective improvements
4. People typically have minimal awareness of how their
usage compares to others
5. Most people won’t change their desire for comfort and
convenience based upon ethics alone
1. Provide normative comparisons on City bills and City
website.
2. Simplify the process of requesting an audit.
3. Push the following:
a. hard fix solutions
b. financial incentives (rebates and increasing block
rates)
c. normative comparisons (peer pressure) for
encouraging change; move beyond simple
advertising to more of a professionally-researched,
social marketing approach
4. Biggest potential for elec. energy use reduction:
a. air conditioners: less use + replacement
b. refrigerator and clothes
washer replacement
c. less use of dehumidifiers
d. don’t use electric heaters
e. CFL’s
f. don’t lose sight of the kilowatt-hours savings by
focusing on the watt-hour
savings