Recent Projects
Completed September 2021
Measuring the Non-Energy Impacts of the Massachusetts Utility Program Administrators’ Residential New Construction Energy Efficiency Program. Three3 has partnered with the Boston-based NMR Group to update the non-energy impacts (NEIs) assessment for the Massachusetts Utility Program Administrators’ Residential New Construction energy efficiency program. The program had previously evaluated and monetized the benefits of improved thermal comfort and lighting quality as well as reduced noise indoors attributable to the enhanced energy efficiency of new homes built through their program. In this update, the team conducted both jurisdictional and literature reviews for NEIs claimed by other utilities or evidence for the existence of previously unclaimed NEIs. In total, the team explored 14 additional NEIs and recommended further research on 7 NEIs. The team also noted pathways for increasing the NEIs of a residential new construction program, such as increasing the share of all-electric homes and Passive House construction. Download final report here.
Measuring the Non-Energy Impacts of the Massachusetts Utility Program Administrators’ Residential New Construction Energy Efficiency Program. Three3 has partnered with the Boston-based NMR Group to update the non-energy impacts (NEIs) assessment for the Massachusetts Utility Program Administrators’ Residential New Construction energy efficiency program. The program had previously evaluated and monetized the benefits of improved thermal comfort and lighting quality as well as reduced noise indoors attributable to the enhanced energy efficiency of new homes built through their program. In this update, the team conducted both jurisdictional and literature reviews for NEIs claimed by other utilities or evidence for the existence of previously unclaimed NEIs. In total, the team explored 14 additional NEIs and recommended further research on 7 NEIs. The team also noted pathways for increasing the NEIs of a residential new construction program, such as increasing the share of all-electric homes and Passive House construction. Download final report here.
Completed Summer 2021
Evaluating the Health, Social, and Building Systems Resilience Benefits of Weatherizing Affordable Multifamily Housing. Phase II of this grant involved 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. This project was supported by grants awarded to Three3 and Slipstream by The JPB Foundation. Additional funding contributions were made by the Energy Efficiency Program Administrators in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The NMR Group provided support for the Massachusetts portion of the project.
During Phase I of this collaborative planning grant (2017– 2018), Three3 and Slipstream invited close to a hundred subject matter 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.
Evaluating the Health, Social, and Building Systems Resilience Benefits of Weatherizing Affordable Multifamily Housing. Phase II of this grant involved 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. This project was supported by grants awarded to Three3 and Slipstream by The JPB Foundation. Additional funding contributions were made by the Energy Efficiency Program Administrators in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The NMR Group provided support for the Massachusetts portion of the project.
During Phase I of this collaborative planning grant (2017– 2018), Three3 and Slipstream invited close to a hundred subject matter 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.
Completed Fall 2020
COVID-19 Impacts on Knoxville's Refugees–Capturing the Lived Experience
We had the privilege of working with Bridge Refugee Services in Knoxville, TN to better understand the needs and experiences of refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a coordinated effort with local interpreters, we heard the personal testimonies of refugees living in our Knoxville community. We learned about the unique challenges refugees face after newly migrating to the U.S. during the pandemic, including: difficulties finding and maintaining employment, paying rent and utility bills, accessing internet for virtual students, and feeling socially isolated. Three3 staff are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have participated in these interviews and for the meaningful, learning opportunity. We encourage everyone to share warm words of welcome to our newest neighbors and remember to provide support to them and to helping organizations, like Bridge Refugee Services, during this difficult time and beyond. Learn more about how you can help at https://www.bridgerefugees.org.
COVID-19 Impacts on Knoxville's Refugees–Capturing the Lived Experience
We had the privilege of working with Bridge Refugee Services in Knoxville, TN to better understand the needs and experiences of refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a coordinated effort with local interpreters, we heard the personal testimonies of refugees living in our Knoxville community. We learned about the unique challenges refugees face after newly migrating to the U.S. during the pandemic, including: difficulties finding and maintaining employment, paying rent and utility bills, accessing internet for virtual students, and feeling socially isolated. Three3 staff are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have participated in these interviews and for the meaningful, learning opportunity. We encourage everyone to share warm words of welcome to our newest neighbors and remember to provide support to them and to helping organizations, like Bridge Refugee Services, during this difficult time and beyond. Learn more about how you can help at https://www.bridgerefugees.org.
Completed Fall 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 was 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 was 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.
Completed Summer 2020
"Non-Energy Impacts Analysis for Xcel Energy's Low-Income Programs: Phase I"
The purpose of this research project was to conduct a preliminary estimate of possible health and household-related NEIs attributable to low-income residential weatherization programs supported by Energy Cents Coalition and Xcel Energy in Minnesota. The initial phase involved the measurement of likely impacts using secondary data resources. These findings are intended to produce evidence to gain support for designing a Phase II project–a robust evaluation of the Energy Cents and Xcel Energy programs using direct data.
"Non-Energy Impacts Analysis for Xcel Energy's Low-Income Programs: Phase I"
The purpose of this research project was to conduct a preliminary estimate of possible health and household-related NEIs attributable to low-income residential weatherization programs supported by Energy Cents Coalition and Xcel Energy in Minnesota. The initial phase involved the measurement of likely impacts using secondary data resources. These findings are intended to produce evidence to gain support for designing a Phase II project–a robust evaluation of the Energy Cents and Xcel Energy programs using direct data.
Completed Fall 2019
"Weatherization + Health Enhanced Program Impact Study"
Three3 was contracted by the Opportunity Council, located in Bellingham, Washington, to assist in their efforts to define and optimize its Weatherization + Health program impact potential for “high utilization” recipients of the healthcare system. Three3 has transferred the management of this project from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the original approval was secured for Washington State Institutional Review Board (WSIRB) for accessing Medicaid records. Under a data sharing agreement with the Health Care Authority (HCA) in WA state, identifiable data was received to link participants in the Opportunity Council's Weatherization Plus Health programs to their Medicaid costs and claims data. Throughout the project, Three3 has worked closely with Opportunity Council as a study partner in the study design and in securing data.
"Weatherization + Health Enhanced Program Impact Study"
Three3 was contracted by the Opportunity Council, located in Bellingham, Washington, to assist in their efforts to define and optimize its Weatherization + Health program impact potential for “high utilization” recipients of the healthcare system. Three3 has transferred the management of this project from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the original approval was secured for Washington State Institutional Review Board (WSIRB) for accessing Medicaid records. Under a data sharing agreement with the Health Care Authority (HCA) in WA state, identifiable data was received to link participants in the Opportunity Council's Weatherization Plus Health programs to their Medicaid costs and claims data. Throughout the project, Three3 has worked closely with Opportunity Council as a study partner in the study design and in securing data.
Completed Fall 2019
On-the Ground Insights on Decision Making, Adoptability, and Performance of ‘Healthier’ Energy-Efficiency Materials Used for Retrofitting Affordable Multifamily Housing”
Through this project, phone interviews were conducted with contractors that have delivered energy retrofit services within the affordable multifamily housing space. Findings from this qualitative research contribute to the much larger research effort--the Healthier Affordable Building Materials (HABM) Project—sponsored by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA), in collaboration with Elevate Energy, Healthy Building Network, Vermont Energy Investment Corp., and International Living Future Institute. The final report can be found here.
The HABM project includes additional research surrounding healthier insulation and air sealing materials for energy efficiency retrofits. The collective research results and healthier material and policy recommendations have been published in a Guide for Healthier Energy Efficiency Retrofits. The guide can be found here. The long-term goal is to mainstream the use of healthier building materials in energy efficiency retrofits to reduce toxic exposures to both workers and occupants, improve indoor environmental quality, and make buildings more energy efficient.
On-the Ground Insights on Decision Making, Adoptability, and Performance of ‘Healthier’ Energy-Efficiency Materials Used for Retrofitting Affordable Multifamily Housing”
Through this project, phone interviews were conducted with contractors that have delivered energy retrofit services within the affordable multifamily housing space. Findings from this qualitative research contribute to the much larger research effort--the Healthier Affordable Building Materials (HABM) Project—sponsored by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA), in collaboration with Elevate Energy, Healthy Building Network, Vermont Energy Investment Corp., and International Living Future Institute. The final report can be found here.
The HABM project includes additional research surrounding healthier insulation and air sealing materials for energy efficiency retrofits. The collective research results and healthier material and policy recommendations have been published in a Guide for Healthier Energy Efficiency Retrofits. The guide can be found here. The long-term goal is to mainstream the use of healthier building materials in energy efficiency retrofits to reduce toxic exposures to both workers and occupants, improve indoor environmental quality, and make buildings more energy efficient.