10.2190/8H0K-D3QC-TGY8-9YCJ 8H0KD3QCTGY89YCJ 7 Residential Home Audits: An Empirical Analysis of the Enersave Program 265 278 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 8H0KD3QCTGY89YCJ.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=8H0KD3QCTGY89YCJ 3 Gordon H. G. McDougall John D. Claxton J. R. Brent Ritchie School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University University of British Columbia University of Calgary The purpose of residential home audit programs is to encourage energy conservation by providing homeowners with information concerning retrofit actions which are economically feasible. One particular type of home audit program, the Class B audit, is based on a computerized analysis of the home. This study examined the impact of one Class B audit, the ENER$AVE program operated by the Canadian federal government. A longitudinal analysis of approximately 1400 households, a majority of whom participated in the program, concluded that the ENER$AVE program had little or no effect on homeowners' conservation activities. These results coupled with other findings question the effectiveness of Class B audits in general. P. C. Stern, J. S. Black, and J. T. Elworth, <i>Home Energy Conservation</i>, Institute for Consumer Policy Research, Mount Vernon, New York, 1981. R. H. Williams and M. Ross, Drilling for Oil in Our Houses, <i>Technology Review</i>, pp. 24-36, March/April 1980. B. Johnson, An Air-Tight Case for Low Energy, <i>Globe and Mail</i>, p. 7, November 25, 1981. D. A. Wehrung, Space Heating in the Residential Sector: Household Thermal Efficiency and the Need for Upgrading, unpublished report, Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, Ottawa, May 1980. T. Deutscher and H. Munro, The Role of Home Energy Habits in Facilitating Residential Retrofits, Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, Ottawa, 1980. E. Hirst, and P. Lazare, Minnesota Computerized Home Energy Audit Program, in <i>Consumers and Energy Conservation: International Perspectives on Research and Policy Options</i>, J. D. Claxton, et al. (eds.), Pergamon Press, New York, pp. 262-270, 1981. A. K. Meier, Measuring Residential Energy Consumption, in <i>Changing Energy Use Futures</i>, R. A. Fazzolare, et al. (eds.), Pergamon Press, New York, pp. 224-230, 1979. G. H. G. McDougall, J. R. Ritchie, J. R. Brent, and J. D. Claxton, Energy Consumption and Conservation Patterns in Canadian Households, unpublished report, Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, Ottawa, 1979. J. M. Carman, Consumer Panels, in <i>Handbook of Marketing Research</i>, R. Ferber (ed.), McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 2-200; 2-216, 1974.