This paper is part of a larger project investigating the role of politics and policy design on suitability and energy transitions from the FSU participants in the Sustainable Healthy Cities Network. The City of Tallahassee FL is used as a test bed to examine how policy design is linked to individual behavior and outcomes. This specific piece examines voluntary compliance and explores actor motivations to comply with non-mandatory directives. We investigate the conditions and motivations shaping household-level decisions related to voluntary compliance within an energy audit (low-commitment) and a loan (high-commitment) program. We find evidence of different economic and social motivations at play, and discuss the research implications for policy design and implementation.