A Rice University student caulks a window as part of a project on weatherization and energy efficiency.
How do free home improvements — including attic insulation, solar screens, window caulking and maybe even energy-efficient appliances — sound to you? What if these improvements are not only installed by professionals free of charge, but also help the environment? What if the measures save 12-18 percent on your electricity bill each month? However tempting this might sound, the city of Houston-sponsored project that offers the improvements, the Residential Energy Efficiency Program (REEP), has only seen a 36 percent participation rate among eligible households.
Since its inception in 2006, REEP has weatherized over 8,300 homes in the Houston area. However, the program is still behind ambitious government-set targets due to low participation rates. As a result, a group of Rice University students enrolled in the course Integrated Solutions to Sustainable Development formed a working group, and later a summer internship, under Robert Stein, Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science; Amy Myers Jaffe, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at the Baker Institute; and Stephanie Post, executive director of Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement, to help the city of Houston investigate successful approaches to soliciting higher low-income client participation rates for REEP.
Our first step was to create a telephone survey that randomly assessed 500 people in Houston’s Sharpstown area. The residents were asked about their level of concern about their energy bills, current efforts to save energy, trust in the city government to do the right thing, and likelihood of being influenced by a neighbor’s decision to participate in the REEP.
The survey found that the key factor influencing residents’ decisions to participate is their concern about energy bills. The people most likely to be concerned, and therefore more likely to participate in the program, are usually women, singles or people of African-American descent, our study showed. In addition, the study found that the Internet is a major source of information about the program; and that most survey participants felt that if their neighbors participated in the program, they would then be more likely to participate.
We also found that neither people’s trust in the government nor their attitude toward conservation were at all indicative of whether they would participate in this energy-conscious government program.
With these findings in mind, our group crafted recommendations for the city of Houston to improve its marketing strategy of REEP. The recommendations included emphasizing the monetary gains from the program, such as the savings on utility bills for the next 10 to 15 years, as well as an increase in a home’s resale value. We also suggested adding more information about the program to the REEP website and putting up lawn signs on weatherized homes to solicit neighbors or friends.
Initial suggestions have been given to the city of Houston, but we will continue to search for additional useful information that could increase REEP participation rates. We also hope to continue researching the longer term success of the program by studying the electricity savings of participants whose homes have been weatherized.
One key factor that should be studied is whether residents unconsciously begin to use more electricity. Commonly known as the rebound effect, the phenomenon is well studied in car owners who buy more fuel-efficient cars, and occurs when the user begins to experience the cost savings and therefore becomes less worried about restricting energy use; some percentage of energy savings gains are then lost through higher consumption practices. It is important to research these effects in order to prevent a negative outcome of this great program, and to continue ongoing energy savings education and outreach to participating residents.
Rebecca Ann Jaffe is a Rice University junior who is studying civil and environmental engineering. She was part of a five-person undergraduate team undertaking research supported by the Baker Institute Energy Forum, the Center for Civic Engagement and the Environmental Defense Fund.