MEAS 1 - Rethinking Cost-Benefit Tests

Wednesday, May 18, 2005  ·  10:00 AM - 11:40 AM

Measured Results

MEAS 1

Rethinking Cost-Benefit Tests

It is appropriate to use program cost-effectiveness measures to allocate scarce resources among competing programs. However, if cost-effectiveness measures focus on the current value of energy savings, rather than considering longer run energy costs, environmental impacts, and non energy benefits, they can lead to poor policy decisions. This session will examine current benefit/cost forecasting and evaluation practices and will suggest possible improvements that consider a more complete array of benefits to offset both program and participant costs.

By attending this session, participants will

1. Understand why cost-effectiveness tests need to consider more than current energy savings

2. Examine models for measuring cost-effectiveness in the context of home performance programs

3. Do a better job in measuring the benefits associated with all types of programs

Keywords: cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, performance measurement, home performance, non energy benefits, evaluation.

Jennifer Thorne Amann, ACEEE, Washington, DC

David Carroll, APPRISE, Princeton, NJ

Robert Knight, Bevilacqua-Knight, Inc., Oakland, CA

Type: 100 Minute Session
Track: Measured Results

Course Presenter(s):

• Jennifer Thorne Amann
• David Carroll
• Robert Knight