Energy conservation in low-income homes in New York City: the effectiveness of house doctoring

Abstract The Princeton Scorekeeping Method (PRISM) has been used to analyze the results of energy conservation measures applied to a sample of low-income homes in New York City. Of particular interest is a comparison of conventional auditing with the use of the “house doctor” treatment. PRISM indicates that the house doctor approach, including follow-up retrofits, led to average fuel savings of 20.2%, while the conventional approach produced savings of only 2.5%. The house doctor approach achieved significantly greater energy savings for both rowhouses and detached homes. Significant differences are found between savings achieved in rowhouses in a low-income area of the City, which showed overall savings of 22.0%, and detached homes in middle-income sections of the City, where the savings averaged 8.3%. A restricted form of the PRISM method, with the reference temperature fixed at 15.6°C (60°F) but including the fuel consumed during the retrofit period, has been used to analyze an expanded set of homes. Similar results are found.