Energy Efficient Improvements' Returns, Added Value
Energy Upgrade Upgrade Cost Energy Savings Return Rate Added Value 50% Price Increase
Return Rate Added Value
Flourescent Lamps Fixtures $200 $80 40% $1,600 60% $2,400
Duct Sealing $250 $95 38% $1,900 57% $2,850
ES Clothes Washer $194 $66 34% $1,320 51% $1,980
ES Auto Thermostat $107 $29 27% $580 41% $870
R-12 Water Heater Wrap $85 $23 27% $460 41% $690
ES Refrigerator $97 $23 24% $460 36% $690
ES Heat Pump $692 $126 18% $2,520 27% $3,780
ES Dishwasher $29 $5 17% $100 26% $150
Air Sealing 0.5 Changes/Hour $522 $38 7% $760 11% $1,140
Wall, Attic Insulation $1,784 $111 6% $2,220 9% $3,330
Totals $3,960 $597 15% $11,940 23% $17,910

Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ICF Consulting.
Notes: The chart assumes a typical house with air-source heat pump, electric water heating, clothes washer, clothes dryer, dishwasher. Purchase prices and annual bill savings for efficiency measures are in nominal 1997 dollars. The rate of return assumes 3 percent annual inflation in residential electricity prices. After-tax rates of return assume a 28 percent marginal income tax rate.

  • "ES" = Energy Star.
  • Purchase price of clothes washer, dishwasher, thermostat, and heat pump measures is incremental to the price of existing NAECA appliance standards. All other prices reflect the full cost of the measure, including installation.
  • Bill savings assume average electricity cost of 8.8¢ per kilowatt-hour. Bill savings of equipment measures are relative to a NAECA standard unit.
  • "50% Price Increase" refers to a 50% increase in utility costs, an arbitrary, but not unrealistic figure used to show how increased utility costs affect the return on energy improvement investments and related home values.
  • Heating and cooling consumption values are from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory energy modeling using DOE-2. Other enduse consumptions are from the U.S. Department of Energy's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).