2. Residential Programs:

Table 4. Residential Programs History

2009 2010 2011 2012

FINAL REPORT WPS Community Pilot Programs

2009 2010 2011 2012

measures measures

School to Home Not applicable

Lessons,

IHD Not applicable Two models, $60

cost

Review Not applicable Not applicable

Energy audit and

School to Home Not applicable Not applicable

Lessons,

FINAL REPORT Table 5. Residential Programs Timeline

Program Brillion Allouez Plover

Start The Home Energy Audit and Comprehensive Home Energy Assessment Programs for Brillion functioned as two (2) separate programs offering homeowners whole-house energy efficiency improvements. As an incentive to encourage homeowners to complete installations, the program offered the consultant assessment at no cost if the homeowner installed all recommended improvements. The homeowner paid the Program Administrator $150 if they did not install all of the recommended improvements. Incentives were based on household income and represented 50 percent, 75 percent, or 90 percent of the total project cost. The program assigned an insulation or shell contractor and an HVAC contractor, chosen through a competitive bidding process, to install the measures. The greatest achievement was reaching an installation completion rate of 85 percent and the greatest challenge was homeowner skepticism, thinking the offer was too good to be true.

When the home program rolled out in Allouez, the Program Implementer and stakeholders wanted to test new program design features. The two programs became one (1) and renamed the Home Energy Review Program. The redesigned program combined the energy advocate’s walk-through audit and energy consultant’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR^® assessment into one home visit, lowering the homeowner’s time commitment. To convey value of the assessment, homeowners were charged a $25 fee regardless of moving forward with the recommended efficiency improvements. To eliminate the need to collect and verify homeowner income information and differentiate the offer between income classes, and to test a flat amount, the program incentive structure changed from income-based to 60 percent of total project cost up to program maximums. The program chose a pricing point of 60 percent to gauge customer acceptance of a value just over half of the total project cost. Homeowners selected from a pool

FINAL REPORT WPS Community Pilot Programs

of participating contractors chosen through a competitive bidding process. Contractors formed teams, comprised of an insulation and shell contractor and an HVAC contractor, with one contractor serving as the lead and the face to the homeowner. Contractors set their cost structure for their products and services; therefore, homeowners solicited multiple bids for their jobs. Homeowners paid their portion of the project cost directly to the contractor. The main achievement proved to be the installation completion rate of 67 percent. The greatest challenge was accommodating the high volume of homeowner sign-ups at the kick-off and end of the program with the quantity of program advocates, consultants, and contractors involved in the program.

The introduction of the Home Energy Review Program in Plover brought two (2) additional design changes from the Allouez program design. In Plover, homeowners were only required to install the top three (3) recommended measures. The program stakeholders wanted to test a variation of the “all-or-nothing” approach, hypothesizing more homeowners would have some measures installed versus all measures. The top three (3) measures most often included major air sealing, insulation, and equipment recommendations. If the homeowner moved forward with all

recommendations, they received a $250 bonus. Similar to Allouez, the greatest achievement for the whole-house retrofit program was reaching an installation completion rate of 68 percent and the greatest challenge was accommodating high volume of homeowner sign-ups at the end of the program.

The School to Home Program was run the same way in all three (3) communities. The program remained flexible to accommodate the specific needs of the schools and classrooms. Brillion’s high school was very active with their strong technology and science curriculum, which fit the classroom sessions and activities offered. In Allouez and Plover, only elementary schools

participated, as middle and high school attendance takes place in other communities. The School to Home Program utilized KEEP and their nationally recognized programs in all three (3)

communities. One unique activity offered in 2012 was the LED holiday light exchange. Students were encouraged to bring old, inefficient strings of holiday lights to school in exchange for new energy efficient LED holiday lights. The old strings were recycled. Another well-received activity included conservation kits offered to the fourth grade classes in 2011 and 2012. The kits

contained two (2) CFL bulbs, a shower timer, power strip, and LED nightlight for students to take home and install. Students were asked to return a survey, which proved to be the greatest achievement with a 100 percent response rate by more than 50 percent of the classes. Despite offering numerous day/timing opportunities, the greatest challenge proved registering teachers for continuing education classes, as the teachers’ busy schedules prevented them from

participating.

The Heating and Cooling Early Retirement Program in Brillion underwent a redesign in the last quarter of 2011 and was renamed to the Heating Equipment Bonus Program. To strengthen the connection to the Focus on Energy program and simplify the offer for trade allies and

homeowners, the incentives, measure mix, and program delivery became a bonus in addition to the Focus on Energy incentives. The central air conditioner incentive ended due to small energy savings, high initial costs, and to align with the Focus on Energy offers. This program was not offered in Plover due to limited participation in Brillion and Allouez and the shortened program

FINAL REPORT WPS Community Pilot Programs

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