Abstract
In the United States, 44% of low-income households struggle to pay their utility bills, affecting their ability to afford necessities such as food and health expenses. There is a high demand for, but low availability of, energy efficiency services in underserved neighborhoods, creating an opportunity for community-based programs to fill this inherent gap. This pilot project aims to bring energy savings and education to a uniquely targeted portion of Salt Lake City, UT, through the exchange of light-emitting diode bulbs and examines its feasibility in addressing energy insecurity at larger scales. Through the 8-month project duration, 1432 bulbs were exchanged at 23 events reaching 181 households in low-income areas that, through a year of use, were estimated to save residents approximately $18,219 in electricity bills, reducing CO2 emissions from power plants by 122 metric tons. Since this pilot reached less than 1% of households, we extrapolated a reach of 2%, 5%, and 7.5%, and found substantial potential decreases in power plant emissions and financial savings. Ongoing expansion efforts include more direct engagement with trusted members of the targeted communities and stronger attempts to engage participants in energy efficiency education as our project encountered some difficulties in reaching the intended population.
Highlights
In this manuscript we present, as a case study, a pilot program administered by a local Salt Lake City environmental non-profit, Utah Clean Energy (UCE) that aims to: 1. Elicit behavior change by encouraging adoption of energy efficient measures and technology
The pilot project was informed by background research and local expert knowledge of the authors, community leaders, and stakeholders engaged through the formulation process
The goal was to communicate with community members potential avenues to reduce energy consumption to directly save them money, as well as reducing their emissions footprint to positively impact air quality, which is a well-known concern in the Salt Lake Valley
Summary
Encouraging an energy-user or home-owner to change behavior or take action to conserve energy or use energy more efficiently can be challenging Often, this requires the coordination of multiple actors [3] and can be difficult when the user often violates the rational choice of saving money. Energy insecurity ( often referred to as energy poverty or fuel poverty) is the inability to afford to pay monthly utility bills to support proper heating, cooling, and other energy needs in the home [4]. This issue is pervasive in the United States: nearly half (44%) of low-income households struggle to pay their utility bills [5]. Following low-income households, other vulnerable demographics that face a greater energy burden include African Americans (5.4%), Latinos (4.1%)
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