I am looking for research on the barriers/benefits to saving energy in low-income households/communities. For example, drying clothes on a clothesline outside may not be a practical energy saving behavior due to the risk that clothing might be stolen. Does anyone know of research in this area?
Deborah Brannan
United States
Barriers/Benefits to Saving Energy in Low-Income Households
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Hi Deborah,
Much of the potential savings in low-income households are related to resource efficiency and can be realized through efficiency retrofits. I touched on the topic of barriers to low-income communities in my research on residential energy conservation ordinances. This information can be found starting with the section titled 'Barriers to Adoption' in this document: http://www.ci.hayward.ca.us/forums/RECO/documents/2010/June%202%20Att.%20III%20-%20Steele_Kali_RECO_Report.pdf
You could also look through my bibliography for source material that has more in-depth information on the topic. The upshot of it is that local agencies and utilities must provide low-income communities with services and/or funding to achieve significant energy savings.
Kali Steele
United States