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Weatherization Program Overview |
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The following information is from: Metaevaluation of National Weatherization Assistance Program Based on State Studies 1993 - 2002, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, February 2003. Full report is available at Oak Ridges Website. Weatherization saves an average of 30.8% in gas space heating. This comprises a total fuel consumption reduction of 21.9%. Net savings for each home weatherized average 29.1 mbtu/year. Reducing energy demand decreases the environmental impacts of energy production.
Weatherization mitigates approximately .23 metric tons
of carbon per year in a home heated primarily with natural gas. This
translates into nearly one metric ton (.85) of carbon dioxide
emissions avoided. For homes heated by electricity, the savings are
even higher: weatherization reduces .475 metric tons of carbon
annually. Weatherization also reduces emissions of methane and
nitrous oxide.
Weatherization creates non-energy benefits as well, including the
following, quantifiable benefits: increased property value, reduced
incidence of fire, reduced arrearages, federal taxes generated from
employment, income generated from indirect employment, avoided costs
of unemployment benefits, environmental externalities. Taken
together, for every $1 invested in the program, Weatherization
returns $2.79 in energy and non-energy impacts.
Additional benefits that are difficult to quantify include: improved
health and safety conditions, increased comfort for the occupants,
reduction in homelessness and mobility, extended lifetime of
affordable housing. Over 5 million homes have been weatherized since the inception of the program. The avoided energy costs to these households during the winter of 2000-2001 totaled approximately $1 billion. Click Here for Vermont's Energy Study on the Weatherization Program
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