Content Analysis of Home Energy Audit Reports: Quantitative Methodology for Standardization

AbstractHome energy assessments or audits help homeowners diagnose and analyze the energy use in their homes. Assisted, traditional, and deep levels of these audits involve a trained auditor conducting energy analyses on the building structure. Findings from these audits are presented to the homeowner in a report format. Currently, a variety of content presented in the reports is confusing to homeowners. Energy assessments are predominantly carried out by technical professionals who may lack training and skills to address the voice of the customer, in this case, the homeowner. Report content output is served in the traditional engineering paradigm of building science and energy engineering problem solving. This research uses expert opinion to validate the content that is important for presentation in reports by energy professionals. The results then provide a basis for examining current industry practice and identify new research gaps for further development, particularly in the domain of design for human...

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