Reducing energy consumption in residential buildings in Charlottesville, Virginia

The Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) has been investing its efforts in convincing homeowners in Charlottesville, Virginia to renovate their homes for reduction of energy consumption. Although LEAP had conducted a focus group, which emphasized comprehending homeowners' perceptions about home energy efficiency renovations, and determined several potential incentives that could lead homeowners to renovate their homes, the organization was ambivalent about how to present the incentives in an effective manner. By applying human factors knowledge and statistical analysis to the problem, the objective of informing and educating the residents in the community about retrofits and resulting benefits and, in turn, convincing them to renovate their homes can be met. The results of the focus group revealed that retrofit costs were the main barrier while potential savings in utility bills were the main incentive for homeowners to renovate their homes. Therefore, presenting real case scenarios of home retrofits appeared most feasible. Through observations and studies of the process and the results of past home retrofits, home profile conceptual designs were formulated. The designs display retrofit costs, returns on investments, and factors, other than renovations, that could have potentially affected savings results. Secondary incentives such as comfort, environmental impact, civic duty, and trust in contractors were also incorporated into the home profiles as appropriate. Once several variants of home profile designs were created, homeowners from Charlottesville viewed the profiles and the effectiveness of each was measured. Effectiveness was statistically measured in terms of how well each design informs and educates the viewers about retrofits and resulting benefits and, in turn, convinces them to renovate their homes. Although the usability test did not suggest a clear-cut winner from the several alternative designs, strengths and weaknesses of each design were determined.