Current Projects
September 2020 – Spring 2021
"Low-Income Solar Programs - Customer Experiences Survey "
Groundswell, Three3, and Elevate Energy, Inc. are partnering on survey research for LIFT Solar. LIFT Solar is a group of nonprofit organizations conducting research on behalf of the U.S. Dept. of Energy about the implementation of solar programs that serve low-income households across the country. Groundswell is a non-profit operating out of Washington D.C. that "develops community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment." Elevate Energy, Inc. is a non-profit headquartered in Chicago, IL that "design and implement programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who need them most."
"Low-Income Solar Programs - Customer Experiences Survey "
Groundswell, Three3, and Elevate Energy, Inc. are partnering on survey research for LIFT Solar. LIFT Solar is a group of nonprofit organizations conducting research on behalf of the U.S. Dept. of Energy about the implementation of solar programs that serve low-income households across the country. Groundswell is a non-profit operating out of Washington D.C. that "develops community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment." Elevate Energy, Inc. is a non-profit headquartered in Chicago, IL that "design and implement programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who need them most."
Summer 2019 – Summer 2021
"Wx Rx: Connecting Healthcare (Rx) with Weatherization (Wx)"
This project, funded by the Energy Foundation and the East Tennessee Foundation, seeks to create new approaches and a sustainable system for linking the healthcare and energy efficiency sectors in Knoxville to address housing issues that contribute to chronic respiratory illness for income-qualifying households. To do this, Three3, in partnership with the City of Knoxville's Office of Sustainability, has convened key stakeholders across the city – from government officials and local community-based organizations to the public health and healthcare sectors. Transformative education across organizations will help to develop processes and protocols to refer patients from healthcare (Cherokee Health and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital) to Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee. Through this pilot, a small number of homes of patients with chronic (and uncontrolled) respiratory illness will receive a healthy homes assessment and will be weatherized. Three3 and study partners will assess the process and short-term health outcomes for patients whose homes were weatherized and the model’s impacts overall to ensure households that need a referral for healthy homes and weatherization services have access to any newly developed program with strong likelihood to produce meaningful outcomes.
"Wx Rx: Connecting Healthcare (Rx) with Weatherization (Wx)"
This project, funded by the Energy Foundation and the East Tennessee Foundation, seeks to create new approaches and a sustainable system for linking the healthcare and energy efficiency sectors in Knoxville to address housing issues that contribute to chronic respiratory illness for income-qualifying households. To do this, Three3, in partnership with the City of Knoxville's Office of Sustainability, has convened key stakeholders across the city – from government officials and local community-based organizations to the public health and healthcare sectors. Transformative education across organizations will help to develop processes and protocols to refer patients from healthcare (Cherokee Health and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital) to Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee. Through this pilot, a small number of homes of patients with chronic (and uncontrolled) respiratory illness will receive a healthy homes assessment and will be weatherized. Three3 and study partners will assess the process and short-term health outcomes for patients whose homes were weatherized and the model’s impacts overall to ensure households that need a referral for healthy homes and weatherization services have access to any newly developed program with strong likelihood to produce meaningful outcomes.
Summer 2018 – Spring 2021
"Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Home Uplift Initiative Non-Energy Impact Study”
Three3 has been contracted by TVA to capture and estimate observed non-energy impacts (NEIs) stemming from their low-income weatherization initiative, Home Uplift, implemented in multiple metro areas across the Tennessee Valley. Three3 will use survey data to estimate select health and wellbeing, dwelling quality, and household economic outcomes to measure broader impacts, such as reduced energy burden and advancements in health equity. The evaluation uses a quasi-experimental approach with both treatment (weatherized) and control (non-weatherized) group household to measure NEIs attributable to Home Uplift. Qualitative information is being collected through in-depth interviews with households participating in the Data With a Soul (DWaS) component of our evaluation. The DWaS project uses microdocs (short documentary films) to capture the human stories in response to observable changes in quality of life, thermal stress, indoor environmental quality, and energy burden as a result of Home Uplift.
"Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Home Uplift Initiative Non-Energy Impact Study”
Three3 has been contracted by TVA to capture and estimate observed non-energy impacts (NEIs) stemming from their low-income weatherization initiative, Home Uplift, implemented in multiple metro areas across the Tennessee Valley. Three3 will use survey data to estimate select health and wellbeing, dwelling quality, and household economic outcomes to measure broader impacts, such as reduced energy burden and advancements in health equity. The evaluation uses a quasi-experimental approach with both treatment (weatherized) and control (non-weatherized) group household to measure NEIs attributable to Home Uplift. Qualitative information is being collected through in-depth interviews with households participating in the Data With a Soul (DWaS) component of our evaluation. The DWaS project uses microdocs (short documentary films) to capture the human stories in response to observable changes in quality of life, thermal stress, indoor environmental quality, and energy burden as a result of Home Uplift.
October 2018 – October 2020: Phase II Implementation Grant
"Valuating the Health, Social, and Building Systems Resilience Benefits of Weatherizing Affordable Multifamily Housing"
Phase II of this grant involves survey administration to residents of a large sample of multifamily buildings throughout the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. Through permission with property owners, managers provided access for the study team to conduct in-field visits to both deliver surveys to residents and to capture building characteristics. In-field staff also surveyed property managers to gain insights on observations of health and resilience status of building residents as well as the resilience of the building systems. We collected over 1900 Round 1 surveys across all research groups; Treatment group (pre-weatherization observations from residents in buildings scheduled for weatherization), Control group (observations from residents in buildings not scheduled for weatherization), and Comparison group (observations from residents in previously weatherized buildings). Round 2 of the grant, which includes administering the ~12-month follow up survey to households for both Treatment (weatherized building) and Control (non-weatherized) buildings was initiated Summer 2019. We plan to convene Phase I planning grant participants in Summer 2020 to review and provide feedback on study findings. This project is being supported by grants awarded by The JPB Foundation and utility Program Administrators in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
October 2017– October 2018: Phase I Planning Grant
During Phase I of this collaborative planning grant, Three3 and numerous invited experts in the fields of housing, building systems, public health, social equity and community resilience, worked to develop robust and exploratory research designs to assess the health impacts and resilience benefits—both building systems and social resilience—of improving the energy-efficiency of affordable multifamily (MF) housing. Phase I concluded with identifying weatherization partners in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. for access to affordable housing and introductions to property owners and managers.
"Valuating the Health, Social, and Building Systems Resilience Benefits of Weatherizing Affordable Multifamily Housing"
Phase II of this grant involves survey administration to residents of a large sample of multifamily buildings throughout the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. Through permission with property owners, managers provided access for the study team to conduct in-field visits to both deliver surveys to residents and to capture building characteristics. In-field staff also surveyed property managers to gain insights on observations of health and resilience status of building residents as well as the resilience of the building systems. We collected over 1900 Round 1 surveys across all research groups; Treatment group (pre-weatherization observations from residents in buildings scheduled for weatherization), Control group (observations from residents in buildings not scheduled for weatherization), and Comparison group (observations from residents in previously weatherized buildings). Round 2 of the grant, which includes administering the ~12-month follow up survey to households for both Treatment (weatherized building) and Control (non-weatherized) buildings was initiated Summer 2019. We plan to convene Phase I planning grant participants in Summer 2020 to review and provide feedback on study findings. This project is being supported by grants awarded by The JPB Foundation and utility Program Administrators in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
October 2017– October 2018: Phase I Planning Grant
During Phase I of this collaborative planning grant, Three3 and numerous invited experts in the fields of housing, building systems, public health, social equity and community resilience, worked to develop robust and exploratory research designs to assess the health impacts and resilience benefits—both building systems and social resilience—of improving the energy-efficiency of affordable multifamily (MF) housing. Phase I concluded with identifying weatherization partners in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. for access to affordable housing and introductions to property owners and managers.
February 2017 – September 2020
Evidence for Action--Investigator-Initiated Research to Build a Culture of Health"
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) awarded $40 million to seven communities in their service territory in the Southeastern United States to implement an Extreme Energy Makeover (EEM) program, with the goal of improving the energy efficiency of homes inhabited by households of low socioeconomic status. Due to the increased attention to our non-energy impact research we have been conducting around the country, we were invited by TVA to submit a research design that would look beyond the energy savings and explore the health impacts of Knoxville's Extreme Energy Makeover (KEEM) program. Through this project we are: examining how the energy cost savings affect household budgets and expenditures on health and well-being; and, are creating a database of the characteristics, health impacts, and costs and savings of weatherization. The database and findings from the study will inform optimization of low-income energy efficiency and healthy housing programs, particularly in moderate and hot-humid climate zones. This project is being supported by a grant awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click button below for more details on the grant and RWJF's Evidence for Action-Culture of Health program.
Evidence for Action--Investigator-Initiated Research to Build a Culture of Health"
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) awarded $40 million to seven communities in their service territory in the Southeastern United States to implement an Extreme Energy Makeover (EEM) program, with the goal of improving the energy efficiency of homes inhabited by households of low socioeconomic status. Due to the increased attention to our non-energy impact research we have been conducting around the country, we were invited by TVA to submit a research design that would look beyond the energy savings and explore the health impacts of Knoxville's Extreme Energy Makeover (KEEM) program. Through this project we are: examining how the energy cost savings affect household budgets and expenditures on health and well-being; and, are creating a database of the characteristics, health impacts, and costs and savings of weatherization. The database and findings from the study will inform optimization of low-income energy efficiency and healthy housing programs, particularly in moderate and hot-humid climate zones. This project is being supported by a grant awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click button below for more details on the grant and RWJF's Evidence for Action-Culture of Health program.