A homeowner assessment tool supporting home energy audits
Open Access
- Author:
- Mohr, Nathalie
- Graduate Program:
- Architectural Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- May 01, 2012
- Committee Members:
- David R Riley Ii, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- residential energy audit
behavior
homeowner
survey - Abstract:
- The growth in residential energy consumption is an increasing problem in the U.S. from both environmental and economic standpoints. Interventions have been put in place by federal, state and local institutions to target near-term home energy reductions through the use of available technologies and shifts in homeowners’ behavioral habits. In the realm of these interventions, home energy audits have a promising potential to foster the implementation of energy-saving measures by providing personalized recommendations adapted to the specific state of the homes. Insights from behavioral sciences research suggest that a better understanding of the factors influencing homeowners’ decisions to perform energy-saving measures can assist auditors in their interaction with the homeowners and increase the uptake of these measures. This research aims to formalize and embed the assessment of these factors in the energy audit process. An intake survey was developed to assess homeowners’ knowledge, motivation, and skills with regard to the performance of home energy improvements and the adoption of conservation behaviors. A scorecard was also created to present the results of the survey to the auditors prior to their home inspection. The survey was tested with customers of two auditing firms. Observations were made by the researcher on the administration of the tool and the management of the data. Feedback was collected from the participants on the design of the survey. The researcher’s observations and the participants’ feedback helped define some guidelines for future iterations of the survey. The feedback collected from two groups of energy auditors confirmed that the tool could aid them in their interventions and their interactions with the homeowners. This feedback also indicated additional work needed to facilitate the integration of the survey in the audit process and improve the usability of the information collected for the auditors.