Health and Household-Related Benefits Attributable to the Weatherization Assistance Program

This report describes and monetizes numerous health and household related benefits attributable to the weatherization of low-income homes by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). WAP was created by Congress in 1976 under Title IV of the Energy Conservation and Production Act. The purpose and scope of the Program as currently stated in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 10 CFR 440.1 is “to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings owned or occupied by low-income persons, reduce their total residential energy expenditures, and improve their health and safety, especially low-income persons who are particularly vulnerable such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, families with children, high residential energy users, and households with high energy burden.” (Code of Federal Regulations, 2011) To achieve these goals, DOE provides grants to states, territories, tribes, and the government of Washington, DC; these grantees then fund local agencies (known as Subgrantees) to weatherize homes of low-income American householders. The Grantees and Subgrantees often leverage the DOE funding to obtain additional funding from states and utilities. Weatherization measures most frequently installed in homes are: air sealing; insulation (e.g., wall and attic); furnace repair and replacement; refrigerator replacement; and ventilation. The weatherization process itself is simply described: income-eligible households enter the Program; energy audits are performed on the homes; energy efficiency measures that meet a savings-to-ratio test, along with appropriate health and safety measures, are installed in the homes; and final inspections are conducted. Sometimes agencies need to defer weatherization if homes are in extremely poor physical condition or present health and safety risks to their personnel.