Energy Cost Burdens for Low-Income and Minority Households Evidence From Energy Benchmarking and Audit Data in Five US Cities
Energy Cost Burdens for Low-Income and Minority Households Evidence From Energy Benchmarking and Audit Data in Five US Cities
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DOI：
10.1080/01944363.2019.1647446
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发表时间：
2019-09-17
影响因子：
5.6
通讯作者：
Bonczak, Bartosz
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kontokosta, Constantine E.;Reina, Vincent J.;Bonczak, Bartosz
问题、研究策略和发现：在住房可负担性衡量的三个主要组成部分-租金、交通和公用事业-中，公用事业成本是迄今最不被了解的一个领域，可以在不搬迁家庭的情况下降低成本负担。现有的估算能源成本的数据来源仅限于小样本和低时空分辨率的调查，如美国住房调查和住宅能源消耗调查。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种小面积估计家庭能源成本负担(ECB)的新方法，该方法利用美国五个城市约13,000套多户住宅的实际建筑能源使用数据，并通过分析3,000份能源审计报告将能源成本与节省机会联系起来。我们考察了家庭人口和社会经济特征在成本负担上的差异，并分析了能源使用和支出的空间、区域和建筑层面的差异。我们的结果显示，低收入家庭的平均ECB为7%，而高收入家庭的平均负担为2%。值得注意的是，即使在确定的收入范围内，少数族裔家庭的ECB也高于非西班牙裔白人家庭。对于低收入家庭来说，低成本的能源改进每年可以减少多达1500美元的能源成本。实践要点：在这项研究中，我们试图将能源效率投资的重点转移到它们对家庭成本负担和总体住房负担能力的影响上。我们的分析探索了由测量驱动的城市能源政策产生的新的和独特的数据，并显示低收入家庭不成比例地承担着劣质和低能效住房的负担。城市可以利用这些新的数据资源和方法来制定基于公平的能源政策，将能源效率和气候缓解视为环境正义问题，并应用数据驱动的、有针对性的政策来改善最脆弱的城市居民的生活质量。
Problem, research strategy, and findings: Of the three primary components of housing affordability measures-rent, transportation, and utilities-utility costs are the least understood yet are the one area where the cost burden can be reduced without household relocation. Existing data sources to estimate energy costs are limited to surveys with small samples and low spatial and temporal resolution, such as the American Housing Survey and the Residential Energy Consumption Survey. In this study, we present a new method for small-area estimates of household energy cost burdens (ECBs) that leverages actual building energy use data for approximately 13,000 multifamily properties across five U.S. cities and links energy costs to savings opportunities by analyzing 3,000 energy audit reports. We examine differentials in cost burdens across household demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and analyze spatial, regional, and building-level variations in energy use and expenditures. Our results show the average low-income household has an ECB of 7%, whereas higher income households have an average burden of 2%. Notably, even within defined income bands, minority households experience higher ECBs than non-Hispanic White households. For lower income households, low-cost energy improvements could reduce energy costs by as much as $1,500 per year. Takeaway for practice: In this study we attempt to shift the focus of energy efficiency investments to their impact on household cost burdens and overall housing affordability. Our analysis explores new and unique data generated from measurement-driven urban energy policies and shows low-income households disproportionately bear the burden of poor-quality and energy-inefficient housing. Cities can use these new data resources and methods to develop equity-based energy policies that treat energy efficiency and climate mitigation as issues of environmental justice and that apply data-driven, targeted policies to improve quality of life for the most vulnerable urban residents.