Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA
Abstract Utilities and municipal governments often implement energy efficiency programs to encourage households to improve the energy efficiency of their residences through measures such as weatherizing their homes, installing insulation, replacing inefficient appliances, setting up solar panels, am...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-12-01
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| Series: | npj Climate Action |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-023-00066-1 |
| _version_ | 1827590242330214400 |
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| author | Adam Mayer Ellison Carter Elizabeth Feinberg |
| author_facet | Adam Mayer Ellison Carter Elizabeth Feinberg |
| author_sort | Adam Mayer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Utilities and municipal governments often implement energy efficiency programs to encourage households to improve the energy efficiency of their residences through measures such as weatherizing their homes, installing insulation, replacing inefficient appliances, setting up solar panels, among others. However, these programs often meet with variable success, with some having relatively few participants despite the promise of cost-savings for homeowners. Even as municipal-scale, home energy efficiency programs have grown in popularity, political polarization has increased in the USA. We suggest that political partisanship is an under-studied but potentially important predictor of program participation and use two datasets from Fort Collins, CO to evaluate the relationship between partisanship and energy efficiency program participation Our results imply that partisanship has a modest effect on program participation—this effect is also not highly robust. These results are encouraging in that they imply that partisanship does not greatly affect household decision-making to engage in energy efficiency programs, but at a grid or regional scale partisanship may act as a small barrier to energy efficiency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:14:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e667e40423d74643aad9c091de0cb801 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-9814 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:14:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate Action |
| spelling | doaj.art-e667e40423d74643aad9c091de0cb8012023-12-10T12:36:12ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate Action2731-98142023-12-01211710.1038/s44168-023-00066-1Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USAAdam Mayer0Ellison Carter1Elizabeth Feinberg2Colorado State UniversityColorado State UniversityColorado State UniversityAbstract Utilities and municipal governments often implement energy efficiency programs to encourage households to improve the energy efficiency of their residences through measures such as weatherizing their homes, installing insulation, replacing inefficient appliances, setting up solar panels, among others. However, these programs often meet with variable success, with some having relatively few participants despite the promise of cost-savings for homeowners. Even as municipal-scale, home energy efficiency programs have grown in popularity, political polarization has increased in the USA. We suggest that political partisanship is an under-studied but potentially important predictor of program participation and use two datasets from Fort Collins, CO to evaluate the relationship between partisanship and energy efficiency program participation Our results imply that partisanship has a modest effect on program participation—this effect is also not highly robust. These results are encouraging in that they imply that partisanship does not greatly affect household decision-making to engage in energy efficiency programs, but at a grid or regional scale partisanship may act as a small barrier to energy efficiency.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-023-00066-1 |
| spellingShingle | Adam Mayer Ellison Carter Elizabeth Feinberg Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA npj Climate Action |
| title | Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA |
| title_full | Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA |
| title_fullStr | Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA |
| title_short | Partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the USA |
| title_sort | partisanship and energy efficiency program participation in the usa |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-023-00066-1 |
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