Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Achieving Energy Justice In Low Income Communities: Creating A Community-Driven Program For Residential Energy Savings, Anya Galli Robertson, Kevin Hallinan, Jennifer Hoody

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The cost of residential energy the U.S. is unequally distributed, with low income households paying higher rates and spending 16.8% of their income on utility bills compared to 3.5% of all U.S. Residents.[1] Researchers have found that bringing the housing stock up to the efficiency of the median household would reduce excess energy cost by as much as 68%.[2] However, access to opportunities to reduce residential energy consumption and costs such as tax incentives and utility rebate programs tends to be biased toward wealthier, white homeowners. Additionally, low income residents are most likely to be renters, and residence owners have …