Big House on the Prairie: A Study of ENERGY STAR® Homes in Texas

Alan Ahrens, Reliant Energy HL&P
Glenn Garland, Brian P. Smith, and John Ashe, ICF Consulting

Keywords

Abstract

The Houston, Texas market is experiencing a residential construction boom. More than 25,000 new homes are being built every year. This annual increase of new homes is placing a substantial demand on the publicly owned utilities to supply more energy while under major constraints imposed by the Texas legislature. This paper examines how Reliant Energy HL&P is using the ENERGY STAR labeled homes program to transform the residential construction market to more energy efficient designs that will reduce the annual energy growth demand placed on the utility by the growing residential housing market.

The paper will introduce the constraints imposed on publicly owned utilities by the Texas legislature through Senate Bill 7 and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). The provisions include a cost effectiveness formula for all market transformation programs and measurable peak kW demand reductions.

The paper also will discuss significant lessons that were learned in 2001 about promoting energy efficient homes and stimulating a paradigm shift in home construction practices in a tough market for energy efficiency. The lessons include developing messages for target audiences based on awareness of the ENERGY STAR brand and attitudes towards energy efficiency. Other lessons include facilitating increased interactions and leveraging relationships between market actors such as builders, real estate agents, builder sales staffs, lenders, HERS raters, and utility officials. An additional focus was increasing the awareness and demand in the market place through an expanded ad campaign funded through cooperative advertising partnerships, and developing effective incentive-based strategies that influence key market actors to achieve desired market transformation goals.