Home Heating Efficiencies Offer 'Hat Trick' of Savings

Cost-Effective for Homeowners, Creates Jobs, Reduces Emissions, Says CIER Study

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Improving the energy efficiency of Maryland homes heated by natural gas would generate a "hat trick" of economic and environmental benefits over the next 10 years, including more than 80,000 new jobs, savings of hundreds of dollars in average heating bills and a nine percent reduction in residential carbon emissions, concludes a new study by the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER).

In the researchers' analysis, homeowners - with assistance from state government - would be encouraged to replace worn-out gas furnaces and water heaters with energy-efficient models, which are generally more expensive.

Also, there would be incentives to improve household insulation. While these upgrades would cost thousands of dollars, they would more than pay for themselves in savings. Nearly half of Maryland homes are heated with natural gas.

"We're missing some big opportunities to lower home heating bills, improve the Maryland economy and reduce carbon emissions," says principal investigator, Matthias Ruth, CIER director and Roy F. Weston Chair for Natural Economics at the University of Maryland.

"Helping homeowners spend a little more up front can help the state as a whole in the long-run," Ruth adds. "This kind of co-investment makes good economic and environmental sense."

The Maryland Department of the Environment commissioned the study, Strategies for Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reductions: Residential Natural Gas Efficiency, Economic and Ancillary Health Impacts in Maryland.

The University of Maryland's CIER conducted the research in partnership with The Johns Hopkins University, the University of California, Merced and Towson University.

Previous CIER research for the State analyzed the potential energy and economic impacts of investing in electricity efficiency.

Using a series of economic projection tools, the researchers, in part, conclude that:

"Though our research looked solely at conditions in Maryland, I wouldn't be surprised to find similar benefits in some other states where a large portion of household heating needs are met by natural gas," Ruth says.

The research team used a series of sophisticated economic projection tools to estimate the economic and environmental impacts under varying climate and appliance standards scenarios. The economic analysis considered the direct and indirect economic effects.

"Given the overall positive impacts of enticing efficiency of natural gas use by households, there is an important role to be played by the State," says Andy Blohm, a University of Maryland researcher on the CIER team. "We have already seen notable leadership by Maryland in promoting energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions. Our study clearly shows both the economic and environmental wisdom of that leadership."

Full Text of the report is available online.

The Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland addresses complex environmental challenges through research that explores the dynamic interactions among environmental, economic and social forces and stimulates active dialogue with stakeholders, researchers and decision makers.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Neil Tickner
University of Maryland Communications
301-405-4622
ntickner@umd.edu

Matthias Ruth
Principal Researcher, CIER director
301-405-6075
mruth1@umd.edu

Andrew Blohm
CIER Researcher
301-405-8770
andymd26@umd.edu

CONTACT ON RADON SAFETY ISSUES

Ben Hobbs
Johns Hopkins University
Researcher/ Report Co-editor
410-516-4681
bhobbs@jhu.edu

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