Energy-Plus-Health Playbook

As the energy efficiency industry faces disruptive market changes, program administrators (PAs) seek new strategies for reaching and engaging low- and middle-income customers. In parallel, the health industry is undergoing structural changes to make the transition from a feefor-service reimbursement system to payment models that are increasingly tied to outcomes.
Many health care providers treating patients with chronic respiratory illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) are testing new approaches that include inhome assessment of patients’ housing conditions. Energy efficiency PAs have the technical
knowledge and trained workforce to conduct the in-home assessments and upgrades needed to address substandard housing conditions that affect health.
The transformations taking place for both industries create new program design opportunities that target a shared barrier: unhealthy and substandard housing conditions that cause high energy burdens and compromise household health. By leveraging each other’s resources,
customer access, workforce, and policy frameworks, the energy and health industries can achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
New collaborations nationwide are addressing these challenges by coordinating energy efficiency and health resources. This Playbook is designed to help energy efficiency PAs develop or expand healthy home programming, referred to as Energy-Plus-Health programs.
Integrated Energy-Plus-Health programs offer PAs the opportunity to:
• Reach more customers and provide more extensive services,
• Increase participation in weatherization and residential retrofit programs,
• Improve the quality of life of low-income households and communities,
• Improve health outcomes and reduce health care utilization rates and costs, and
• Unlock new health-related funding streams to leverage utility ratepayer dollars for improved program outcomes.
This Playbook starts off in Section 1 by describing how the document is organized, with the intent to make this a user-friendly, easy-to-follow guidebook that walks the reader through key concepts, steps, and options for developing and implementing Energy-Plus-Health programs.