Evaluation of the BPA Residential Weatherization Pilot Program

This report documents the activities and results of a comprehensive, quantitative evaluation of the BPA program. The evaluation focuses on the energy-saving effects of the program and on its economic costs and benefits. In addition, the evaluation addresses issues related to program operation: participants satisfaction with the program, differences between participants in 1982 and 1983, differences between participant and nonparticipants, and the retrofit measures recommended in the energy audits relative to those subsequently installed with BPA financing. Analysis of these issues required collection and organization of a large and complicated data base. These data include monthly or bimonthly electricity consumption records, for samples of 1982 and 1983 program participants and nonparticipants, from mid-1981 through mid-1984; daily temperature data for 32 weather stations near these households to adjust electricity consumption for changes in winter severity; energy audit reports and weatherization completion forms for program participants; information on household demographic characteristics, structure characteristics, heating fuels, recent conservation actions, and attitudes towards energy conservation from on-site and telephone surveys conducted in 1983; and updates on changes in important energy-related characteristics from a mail survey conducted in Summer 1984. These data were collected from households served by ten electric utilities that participated in themore » BPA interim program. All of these households have electric space heating equipment, almost all live in single-family homes, almost all own their homes, and all have lived in their present residence since mid-1981. Data are available for about 600 1982 participants, 600 1983 participants, 400 nonparticipants, and 70 households that received an audit only. 22 figs., 5 tabs.« less