10.2190/JQ13-P5C0-WRJM-BU5E JQ13P5C0WRJMBU5E 6 A Regional Analysis of Residential Energy Conservation Programs 67 87 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 JQ13P5C0WRJMBU5E.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=JQ13P5C0WRJMBU5E 1 James B. Kurish Eric Hirst Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory This paper evaluates the energy and direct economic effects of implementing various residential energy conservation programs in each of the ten Federal regions. The programs considered are those proposed in the <i>National Energy Plan</i>: appliance efficiency targets, thermal standards for construction of new residences, and weatherization of existing housing units. Implementation of these programs might cut cumulative (1977-2000) national residential energy use by 41 QBtu. Relative energy savings are highest in regions 7 and 8 (11 and 10% respectively, of their baselines) and smallest in region 9 (7%). The net economic benefit to the nation's households of these three federal programs is $21 billion. Benefits exceed costs in each region; the benefit/cost ratio ranges from a low of 1.4 in region 10 to a high of 2.0 in region 6. E. Hirst and J. Carney, <i>Residential Energy Use to the Year 2000: Conservation and Economics</i>, ORNL/CON-13, September 1977. E. Hirst, et al., <i>An Improved Engineering-Economic Model of Residential Energy Use</i>, ORNL/CON-8, April 1977. J. B. Kurish and E. Hirst, <i>Residential Energy Use Models for the Nine U. S. Census Divisions</i>, ORNL/CON-11, April 1977; also J. Kurish, 10 FEA Regional Residential Models, Internal ORNL Memo, July 25, 1977. Bureau of the Census, Projections of the Population of the United States: 1975-2050, <i>Current Population Reports</i>, Series P-25, No. 601, U. S. Department of Commerce, October 1975. J. Carlin, personal communication, Federal Energy Administration, May 1977. U. S. Water Resources Council, <i>1972 OBERS Projections</i>, Regional Activity in the U. S., Volume 4, States, U. S. Department of Commerce and U. S. Department of Agriculture, April 1974. Bureau of the Census, <i>1970 Census of Housing, Detailed Housing Characteristics, United States Summary</i>, HC(1)-B1, U. S. Department of Commerce, July 1972. S. Carhart, personal communication, Brookhaven National Laboratory, March 4, 1977. D. Knapp, personal communication, Federal Energy Administration, June 1977. E. Hirst and J. B. Kurish, <i>Residential Energy Use to the Year 2000: A Regional Analysis</i>, ORNL/CON-17, November 1977. Bureau of the Census, <i>Annual Housing Survey: 1975, General Housing Characteristics, United States and Regions</i>, H-150-75A, U. S. Department of Commerce, April 1977. 94th Congress, <i>Energy Policy and Conservation Act</i>, PL 94-163, December 22, 1975. 94th Congress, <i>Energy Conservation and Production Act</i>, PL 94-385, August 14, 1976. The White House, <i>The President's Energy Program</i>, April 20, 1977; also Executive Office of the President, <i>The National Energy Plan</i>, April 29, 1977. D. Quigley, personal communication, Federal Energy Administration, March 1977. A. D. Little, Inc., <i>An Impact Assessment of ASHRAE 90-75, Energy Conservation in New Building Design</i>, December 1975; also, A. D. Little, Inc., <i>An Energy and Economic Assessment of HUD's Minimum Property Standards</i>, October 1976. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards, <i>Federal Register, 40</i>:244, December 18, 1975. P. Hutchins, personal communication, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 1977. J. C. Moyers, <i>The Value of Thermal Insulation in Residential Construction: Economics and the Conservation of Energy</i>, ORNL/NSF/EP-9, December 1971.