Participation of the elderly in utility-sponsored residential conservation programs

Conference · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5462689

Berry, L G; Brown, M A

Although greater-than-average opportunities for residential energy-efficiency improvements exist among the elderly, most utility-operated conservation programs are not successful in reaching this subgroup. This paper reviews research on elderly participation in utility programs. It contains a literature review, descriptions of program participation levels among the elderly, and a discussion of discrete choice model results which show that the association between age and nonparticipation persists even after the effects of other predictors such as income, education, dwelling age and need for retrofit are removed. In general, utilities include efforts to reach the elderly as one component of their programs for the poor. Since 85% of the elderly are not poor, most will not qualify for these programs. Few utilities reach a large fraction of their low-income households either, regardless of the household's age. Thus, a majority of the elderly, whatever their income level, do not receive conservation services from utilities.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5462689
• Report Number(s): CONF-860818-3; ON: DE86013264
• Resource Relation: Conference: American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Santa Cruz summer study on energy-efficiency in buildings, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, 17 Aug 1986
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
ELDERLY PEOPLE
PUBLIC UTILITIES
AGE GROUPS
AGED ADULTS
BUILDINGS
EFFICIENCY
HUMAN POPULATIONS
MINORITY GROUPS
POPULATIONS
320101* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Residential Buildings- (-1987)