Weatherization Assistance Program - Background Data and Statistics

This technical memorandum is intended to provide readers with information that may be useful in understanding the purposes, performance, and outcomes of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Weatherization Assistance Program (Weatherization). Weatherization has been in operation for over thirty years and is the nation's largest single residential energy efficiency program. Its primary purpose, established by law, is 'to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings owned or occupied by low-income persons, reduce their total residential energy expenditures, and improve their health and safety, especially low-income persons who are particularly vulnerable such as the elderly, the handicapped, and children.' The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act PL111-5 (ARRA), passed and signed into law in February 2009, committed $5 Billion over two years to an expanded Weatherization Assistance Program. This has created substantial interest in the program, the population it serves, the energy and cost savings it produces, and its cost-effectiveness. This memorandum is intended to address the need for this kind of information. Statistically valid answers to many of the questions surrounding Weatherization and its performance require comprehensive evaluation of the program. DOE is undertaking precisely this kind of independent evaluation in order to ascertain program effectiveness and to improve its performance. Results of this evaluation effort will begin to emerge in late 2010 and 2011, but they require substantial time and effort. In the meantime, the data and statistics in this memorandum can provide reasonable and transparent estimates of key program characteristics. The memorandum is laid out in three sections. The first deals with some key characteristics describing low-income energy consumption and expenditures. The second section provides estimates of energy savings and energy bill reductions that the program can reasonably be presumed to be producing. The third section deals with estimates of program cost-effectiveness and societal impacts such as carbon reduction and reduced national energy consumption. Each of the sections is brief, containing statistics, explanatory graphics and tables as appropriate, and short explanations of the statistics in order to place them in context for the reader. The companion appendices at the back of the memorandum explain the methods and sources used in developing the statistics