dc.description.abstract |
Over the course of American history, houses have reflected concerns, or a lack
thereof, regarding energy use. During colonial times, houses in the southern U.S.
featured wide porches that shaded those houses from the sun, while those in the north
were small with little windows to retain heat in the winter and prairie homes were built
into the ground to protect them from harsh storms (Taylor, 2010). The availability of
inexpensive energy eased concerns about efficiency until the Arab oil embargo of 1973-
74. That event was followed by a relatively brief period of experimentation with active
and passive solar homes and then with superinsulated homes (Nissen & Dutt, 1985).
As energy prices dropped and stabilized, interest in energy efficiency waned because of
a political environment that was hostile to the issue (Lutzenhiser, 2002). However,
difficult economic conditions of recent years, coupled with rising energy prices, have
seen a resurgence in this interest.
The objective of this paper is to review programmatic efforts to advance energy
efficiency in the residential sector of the U.S. Various approaches currently underway
will be described and potential impacts will be reviewed. |
en_US |