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After the Audit: Improving Residential Energy Efficiency Assessment Reports

Tens of thousands of home energy assessments are conducted every year in the United States, but many recipients do not follow through on their recommendations. We studied 45 sample assessment repor…

Tens of thousands of home energy assessments are conducted every year in the United States, but many recipients do not follow through on their recommendations. We studied 45 sample assessment reports by coding them for design and content elements, sending them for review by a panel of experts (energy assessors, graphic designers, and behavioral scientists), and examining a subset using an eye-tracker. We also surveyed over 600 customers who received assessments to see how they responded to them. This report summarizes the results of our study and suggests a number of strategies that assessors can use to increase the chances that customers will follow through on their recommendations. Check out a sample of the recommendations on this fact sheet.

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