The response of low-income elderly to tenant incentive programs

In 1985, the City of San Francisco initiated a tenant-incentive demonstration project in public housing to stimulate energy-conservation behavior among its tenants. The goals of the incentive demonstration project were to demonstrate energy savings and to measure the effectiveness of financial incentives in public housing. We found that elderly tenants believed they were already using a minimal amount of energy, and several barriers prevented other tenants from reducing their heating use. Accordingly, we did not expect many elderly tenants in public housing to use less energy in response to an incentive program. Individual and social conditions prevented these tenants from responding to energy-conservation programs. Our preliminary analysis of energy use before and after the incentive program indicates increased gas consumption in both the control and experimental buildings.