Policy
Joseph Cullen
Director of Policy and State Outreach
Home Performance Coalition
Bethesda, Maryland
Nick Dreher
Senior Policy Manager
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Chicago, Illinois
Brian Eakin
Associate Director
Navigant
Austin, Texas
Jim Fay
Program Manager
ComEd
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Patricia Plympton
Associate Director
Navigant
Washington, District of Columbia
The energy efficiency and health industries are converging as both realize the inherent benefits of linking energy efficiency savings to the non-energy impacts provided by weatherization programs. Nowhere is this intersection more evident than in the State of Illinois.
Illinois is at the forefront of linking quantifying both the energy and non-energy impacts attributable through its energy efficiency and weatherization assistance programs. The Future Energy Jobs Act passed in December 2016 “significantly expands energy efficiency, and ….commits up to $750 million for low-income communities to save money and help them benefit from clean energy.” In ComEd’s territory, approximately 1.6 million households (47%) of the total 3.5 million households meet the 80% area medium income requirement. ComEd plans to spend approximately $50 million annually on income-eligible programs for the next three years.
On behalf of ComEd, Navigant is researching new ways to quantify the health, safety, reduced thermal stress, increased occupant comfort, and reduced operating and maintenance costs that result from its weatherization programs. This presentation will describe the methodology to estimate the effects from these non-energy impacts, and describe early findings from our research. It will also describe how non-energy impacts are leading to energy efficiency improvements in low-income buildings and communities.