The North Carolina Field Test: Field performance of the preliminary version of an advanced weatherization audit for the Department of Energy`s Weatherization Assistance Program

Abstract

xi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xiii Several other people have made major contributions to the start-up, operation, and success of this field test. They include Mark Hopkins of the Alliance to Save Energy who led the preparation of the concept paper from which this field test originated; William Prindle and Bion Howard, also from the Alliance to Save Energy, who provided technical support throughout the project; Francis Conlin, assisted by Keith Aldridge and Albert Lee of the North Carolina Alternative Energy Corporation, who led the sizable task of metering installation and directed the intake and data entry of most of the preweatherization field data; Percy Carter of the state of North Carolina, who managed all field operations for the project and directed the intake and data entry of postweatherization data; and Frank Vigil of the North Carolina Alternative Energy Corporation, Mr. Bruce Davis of the Washington County, Arkansas, Economic Opportunity Agency, and Mr. Gerald Mathews of the North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association, who provided specialized training associated with this project. Appreciation is also extended to the directors of the participating weatherization agencies-William Owens of Franklin/Vance/Warren Opportunity, Inc., Marie Watson of Johnston-Lee Community Action, Inc., and Richard Greene of Four-County Community Services, Inc.-for providing and supporting the key personnel most active in the day-today operation of this field test.Special appreciation is extended to participating agency personnel including Roselle Copeland of Franklin/Vance/Warren Opportunity, Inc., Waymon Gainey of Johnston-Lee Community Action, Inc., Vicki Locklear of Four-County Community Services, Inc., and their staff who assisted in this project. Over the course of this test, they devoted thousands of hours to this effort while continuing to provide their normal weatherization services to their clients. They have been responsible for most of the labor-intensive field tasks of this test. Their commitment to this project has been excellent throughout its duration.This cooperative project could not have been accomplished without the numerous contributions made by each of these individuals and the commitments from the organizations they represent. ABSTRACTThe field performance of weatherizations based on a newly-developed advanced technique for selecting residential energy conservation measures was tested alongside current Retro-Tech-based weatherizations in North Carolina. The new technique is computer-based and determines measures based on the needs of an individual house. In addition, it recommends only those measures that it determines will have a benefit-to-cost ratio greater than 1 for the house being evaluated. The new technique also considers the interaction of measures in computing the benefit-to-cost ratio of each measure. The two weatherization approaches were compared based on implementation ease, measures installed, labor and cost requirements, and both heating and cooling energy savings achieved.One-hund...