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Abstract Income-based energy poverty metrics ignore people’s behavior patterns, particularly reducing energy consumption to limit financial stress. We investigate energy-limiting behavior in low-income households using a residential electricity consumption dataset. We first determine the outdoor temperature at which households start using cooling systems, the inflection temperature. Our relative energy poverty metric, theenergy equity gap, is defined as the difference in the inflection temperatures between low and high-income groups. In our study region, we estimate the energy equity gap to be between 4.7–7.5 °F (2.6–4.2 °C). Within a sample of 4577 households, we found 86 energy-poor and 214 energy-insecure households. In contrast, the income-based energy poverty metric, energy burden (10% threshold), identified 141 households as energy-insecure. Only three households overlap between our energy equity gap and the income-based measure. Thus, the energy equity gap reveals a hidden but complementary aspect of energy poverty and insecurity.
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This content will become publicly available on September 1, 2026
Powering fairness in climate adaptation capabilities: Evaluating the influence of air conditioning rebates in a hot climate
Assisting households with maintaining adequate energy supply is one method for improving overall quality of life. Households experiencing energy insecurity may be unable to afford to use energy for necessary services at home (e.g., unable to purchase air conditioners). Energy efficiency (EE) can reduce energy costs for low-income households–requiring less energy for essential activities. While existing research has identified the groups that are less likely to participate in energy efficiency programs, there is limited research on how participation impacts energy insecurity among vulnerable households when they participate. Using over 138,000 households in Tallahassee, Florida we study participants in a neighborhood program that targeted underserved communities. We conduct quasi-experimental difference-in-difference comparisons for seasonal energy consumption, energy bills, and energy burden during the cooling season in response to air conditioning (AC) appliance purchases. We compare impacts for households in the program (REACH) and higher income non-REACH qualified households. We find that REACH homes, on average, save approximately 300kWh-eq on energy or $25 seasonally after purchasing an AC unit. While AC rebates reduce seasonal energy burden by 0.6 % in non-REACH homes, there is no statistically significant change in seasonal energy burden for REACH homes. The difference in energy reduction between REACH and non-REACH qualified homes could be due to increases in AC use among REACH homes after rebates. Further work could explore this trend of potential increases in efficient appliance use among low-income homes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2315027
- PAR ID:
- 10616476
- Publisher / Repository:
- Energy Research & Social Science
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Energy Research & Social Science
- Volume:
- 127
- Issue:
- C
- ISSN:
- 2214-6296
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 104204
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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