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Getting homeowners to invest in comprehensive retrofits is hard: Here’s how to do it
(ACEEE blog, 1 Apr 2024) A new survey of 1,500 U.S. homeowners provides insights on which packages of home energy upgrades are most appealing, who is most open to them, and which messages work best to encourage action.
With America’s aging housing stock and the increasing urgency of climate change, comprehensive energy retrofits are more important than ever. These renovations—designed to achieve at least a 20% reduction in household energy consumption—deliver substantially higher energy savings, bill savings and health benefits compared to smaller individual energy efficiency improvements. But comprehensive retrofits can also be expensive, so state energy offices, utilities and those that run their energy efficiency programs need to maximize offerings to get comprehensive upgrades into as many homes as possible.
One way to tackle these barriers is to target the homeowners who are most likely to invest, presenting upgrade packages they want, using the right messages and applying behavioral science-based strategies. ACEEE’s new report—based on a first-of-its-kind survey—explains how. When it comes to encouraging comprehensive upgrades, there are four things to consider: the audience, the messages, the strategies, and the packages.
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