The opportunity for reducing energy expenditures in homes has never been greater nor has the need been more pressing. Based on the current analysis of weatherization programs, millions of houses do not receive energy efficiency measures and houses that are being weatherized are not receiving the kinds of measures that generate the greatest energy savings. Many of these problems are attributed to program policies, regulations and funding limitations. Given these critical issues. The creative project is a model residential energy efficiency program. Its purpose is to serve as a guide for planning, designing, developing and implementing the kinds of residential energy efficiency programs that will maximize services and benefits. More specifically, the model will assist in the design and implementation of programs that are effective, efficient and can deliver the “right” energy measures to “any” house that needs them. A community in a small Midwestern city was selected to help demonstrate the various components of the model program. / Department of Urban Planning

One of the greatest challenges that will face humanity in the 21st century is the issue of climate change brought about by emissions of greenhouse gases. Energy use is one of the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is also one of the most important contributors to improved human welfare over the past two centuries and will continue to be so for years to come. This quandary has led a number of researchers to suggest that geoengineering may be required in order to allow for continued use of fossil fuels while at the same time mitigating the effects of the associated greenhouse gas emissions on the global climate. The goal of this research was to develop a model that would allow decision-makers and policy analysts to assess the optimal mix of energy and geoengineering resources needed to meet global or regional energy demand at the lowest cost while accounting for appropriate emissions, greenhouse gas concentration, or temperature rise constraints. The resulting software model is called the Combined Energy and Geoengineering Optimization Model (CEAGOM). CEAGOM was then used to analyze the recently announced U.S.-China emissions agreement and to assess what the optimal global energy resource mix might be over the course of the 21st century, including the associated potential need for geoengineering. These analyses yielded optimal mixes of energy and geoengineering resources that could be used to inform regional and global energy and climate management strategies.