APPRISE Market Transformation Research and Evaluation – Residential Programs
APPRISE conducted a process evaluation to understand the contributions of Avangrid’s marketing programs to residential and non-residential customer participation in Avangrid’s energy efficiency programs. The research included in-depth interviews and surveys with program participants to assess the success of various marketing approaches.
The California Residential Appliance Saturation Study (RASS), conducted by the California Energy Commission, is used to collect information on California’s residential energy consumption. The findings from this research will be used to support the Energy Commission’s residential energy demand forecast. This 2020 study was implemented as both a web and mail survey, known as the California Home Energy Survey, and asked residents about their appliances, equipment, and general energy consumption. APPRISE worked with DNV GL Energy Insights USA, Inc. to develop materials to encourage resident participation in the survey. In addition, APPRISE was responsible for overseeing a non-response follow-up effort that used incentives, mailings, phone calls, and personal visits to obtain additional responses from households that did not respond to the initial survey requests.
APPRISE conducted research for the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Board to explore existing NEI values nationally, regionally, and for CT; gaps in existing CT NEI data; and survey research and data analysis that can address NEI measurement. The study explored and assessed the current state of the art for measuring NEIs both nationally and regionally, where and how NEIs are used in calculating the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency programs, how the inclusion of NEIs has impacted energy efficiency programs across the U.S., the best available estimates of the NEIs for CT programs and measures, and how NEIs could be measured and incorporated in future CT evaluations.
Consolidated Edison’s Appliance Recycling Program provides financial incentives to encourage residential electric customers living in one-to-four unit homes to recycle their freezers, second refrigerators, and room air conditioners. APPRISE supported the Impact Evaluation of this program by facilitating on-site data collection. Data collected included the location of the second refrigerator, how the second refrigerator is used, and metered energy usage for that refrigerator. Data from the site visits was used to analyze the impact of the program on energy use.
APPRISE worked with a team to assess the performance of thirteen residential and small business energy efficiency programs offered by the Consolidated Edison and Orange & Rockland utility companies. The evaluation assessed how each energy efficiency program is operating and made recommendations for improvements to the implementation process. Specific information gathered via program participant and non-participant surveys included participant satisfaction, effectiveness of program marketing and delivery, barriers to participation, satisfaction with measures offered, and satisfaction with trade ally training programs.
Consolidated Edison’s Residential HVAC Program provides financial incentives to customers to encourage the installation of select high-efficiency equipment and home energy improvements. APPRISE conducted research to assess the impact of this program. This work included recruiting, scheduling, and conducting site visits to meter central air conditioners and ductless heat pumps installed through this program. Resulting usage data will be analyzed to estimate the impact of this program on energy use.
New Jersey Natural Gas operates energy efficiency programs that are complementary to the New Jersey Clean Energy Programs (NJCEP) as the SAVEGREEN project. The residential program provides grants or on-bill repayment plans to assist with the purchase and installation of furnaces/boilers and water heaters. The commercial program provides NJCEP Direct Install participants with a no-interest on-bill repayment plan for the value of the project not covered by the NJCEP incentive. APPRISE conducted an evaluation of the SAVEGREEN project to assess program management, analyze the incremental impact on energy efficiency activity, determine the extent to which the program influences residential customer implementation of whole house improvements, measure the program’s energy savings, and measure the non-energy impacts of the programs.
New Jersey Natural Gas’ (NJNG) SAVEGREEN Project offers rebates and financing incentives to fund energy efficiency projects for residential and commercial customers. APPRISE is on a contractor team to evaluate NJNG’s operations and ensure that the programs are meeting the energy savings reduction targets outlined in New Jersey’s 2018 Clean Energy Act. APPRISE is responsible for the Home Performance with Energy Star and Moderate Income Weatherization Process and Impact Evaluations. The research will include NJNG and trade ally interviews, participant surveys, and analysis of the natural gas and electric usage reduction that is attributed to these programs.
NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Fund includes multiple initiatives designed to support adoption of heat pump technologies in residential buildings. NYSERDA is conducting a comprehensive study to understand the impact of current efforts, to characterize the heat pump market in New York State, and to measure energy and cost savings due to electrification. APPRISE will be conducting detailed surveys with participating building owners and contractors for each Heat Pump initiative.
NYSERDA’s Low Carbon Pathways program provides incentives for multifamily buildings to install measure packages that include electric heat pump technology, balanced ventilation measures, building envelope improvements, and energy efficient domestic hot water systems. As part of the Impact Evaluation, APPRISE is designing and conducting a quantitative survey with building residents to document home conditions before and after the building upgrades. This survey will provide NYSERDA and participating buildings with valuable information about resident perceptions and satisfaction, non-energy impacts resulting from building upgrades, and variations in resident experience based on location or unit type. Measured non-energy impacts will include resident perceptions of unit comfort, indoor air quality, hot water quality, unit affordability, and household health and well-being. APPRISE is also analyzing building-level results and highlighting key findings for building managers.
NYSERDA’s Residential Energy Audit Program provides no-cost home energy assessments to New York homeowners. The home assessments include recommendations for building envelope measures, high efficiency heating and cooling equipment, and energy controls technology. APPRISE supported a study to estimate the adoption rate for each recommended measure, document the costs of measure installations, and calculate energy savings and non-energy benefits for participants. APPRISE was responsible for survey design consultation, survey testing, and outreach and data collection for the Participant Survey that documented the measures that participants have or have not installed since the home audit was completed.
NYSERDA is conducting a comprehensive study of the residential multifamily housing sector in New York State, including apartment buildings, condominiums, and other buildings that include more than four dwelling units. The purpose of this study is to document the diverse physical and energy-related characteristics of New York’s multifamily buildings, to assess current market practices in implementing energy efficiency and electrification technology, and to identify opportunities for NYSERDA to target programs to multifamily building owners and residents. This study will collect data on a large sample of multifamily buildings using surveys and on-site building inspections. APPRISE was contracted by NYSERDA to conduct outreach and recruitment for the downstate New York region, include New York City and Long Island. APPRISE was responsible for developing and implementing specialized procedures to verify building information and to identify and recruit building representatives to participate in the study.
APPRISE and MaGrann conducted a study of residential thermostat settings and temperature preferences based upon a survey of 239 households in the Northeast about thermostat settings, setbacks, and type of thermostat in the home. The study documented thermostat setpoints and setbacks; the penetration of programmable thermostats and smart thermostats; and use of smart thermostat features.
Based on the research, the study recommended that the greatest setback opportunities for non-elderly households were nighttime in the winter and daytime in the summer. Different protocols are needed for elderly households.
- For households without an elderly member, consider a default winter setting of 69 during the day with a setback of three degrees to 66 at night; and 72 degrees at night in the summer with a setup of 2 degrees to 74 during the day.
- For households with an elderly member, consider a default winter setting of 70 degrees in the winter and 74 degrees in the summer, but without any predetermined setbacks.
We recommend always providing the opportunity for a resident interview in combination with the installation of a new thermostat so that default settings can be modified accordingly. Similarly, providing the opportunity for “live” training empowers residents to modify default settings with an understanding of the energy and comfort implications.
Smart thermostats represent a good opportunity for energy savings based on a number of factors evident from this survey.
- Low existing penetration rate.
- Many households still do not practice thermostat setbacks.
- Of the households practicing setbacks, most are doing so manually.