President-elect Biden’s climate and housing plans highlight the importance of making housing both affordable and more energy efficient. Indeed, the proposal promises to invest $10 billion on energy efficiency retrofits for U.S. housing to lower families’ energy bills, create jobs for workers, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[1]
Energy efficiency upgrades and building electrification will be the most impactful measures to mitigate climate change while also improving the quality of existing housing. These upgrades can also address important equity concerns. Communities of color bear disproportionate impacts of environmental pollution inside and outside their homes.[2] Additionally, low income families are often more financially burdened by high gas and electricity bills, due to improper weatherization and lack of energy efficient appliances.[3] Through electrifying and weatherizing homes, families will be exposed to lower levels of indoor air pollutants (i.e. from gas stoves) and will likely see reduced utility bills.
This analysis looks at ways to improve the DOE’s existing Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), through examining other successful state energy efficiency programs. We also suggest how the federal government can advance vital climate goals through requiring building electrification as part of an updated WAP-type program.
Our analysis of existing programs reveals several problems:
Our policy recommendations seek to address these issues by building off the successes of existing state and federal programs.
The DOE WAP began as an anti-poverty initiative by the federal government shortly after the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. In 1976, Congress gave the Federal Energy Administration, now part of DOE, the authority to operate a National WAP to distribute funds to the state governments.
The WAP has helped improve the lives of 7 million families through their services. Income-eligible families typically spend a higher percentage of their income to heat, cool, and run appliances. The WAP was established to help decrease their home energy costs and to be attentive to energy-related health and safety issues in the home. The DOE provides funding to states, all territories, and Indian tribal governments, who administer the program. These governments fund a network of local community action agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local governments that provide these weatherization services in every state, the DC, U.S. territories, and Indian tribes. 20-30 million families are eligible, eligibility is determined by income, with specific requirements dependent on the state you live in. Priority is given to disabled, elderly and households with children under six, and those with the highest energy costs.6 The program supports 8,500 jobs and provides services to 35,000 homes every year.
It takes a "whole house” approach auditing all of the building systems—the envelope, mechanical and electrical systems, and electric base load appliances. This audit is broken down into 4 categories: Mechanical, Health and Safety, Building Shell, and Electric Base Load Measures. Each audit ensures that a home’s appliances and heating system work efficiently and safely. The "combined savings for energy and non-energy benefits in 2008 show Weatherization returns at $2.72 for every $1 invested", according to WAP's Technical Assistance Center.
WAP provides long term benefits and addresses energy related health and safety issues to many families. There are some shortcomings to the program: funding from the DOE for WAP doesn’t meet the demand and needs of all low-income households. The National Association for State Community Services Programs’ most recent funding survey, from May 2020, estimates that WAP funding from DOE weatherized 90,541 homes in 2018. About 30% of U.S. households, or 38.6 million households, are eligible for weatherization. This means that only about 2% of low-income households receive weatherization services. WAP has shifted in recent years to focus on more comprehensive retrofits and stronger quality work plan and inspection requirements, which can save more energy and reduce costs. Because of this greater investment per home, the number of homes weatherized annually has actually decreased.[4]
The California Low Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) offers free solar photovoltaic systems (PV) and/or energy efficiency (EE) upgrades to low-income households residing in either single-family or multifamily buildings. LIWP also encourages workforce development by requiring contractors to hire students or graduates of job training programs.[5]