Evaluation of an Alternative Home Energy Audit Program

From May 1984 through May 1985 the city of Santa Monica, California, operated an innovative home energy audit program designed to test alternative approaches to the federally mandated Residential Conservation Service (RCS) Program, the program under which virtually all major utility companies in the nation have offered their customers energy conservation audits and recommendations since the early 1980s. As a consequence of the Energy Fitness Program's unique approach, it has become one of the nation's most successful home energy audit programs. This article provides a brief summary of the unique elements of the Santa Monica Program's approach, describes the components of the experimental design by which the effort was completed, and presents the final results of the evaluation performed to measure the program's effectiveness. The evaluation discus sion will particularly focus on program participation and net savings in natural gas, electricity, and water resources achieved by participants .