Americans are once again preferring aesthetic home
improvements over money-saving ones according to the latest Energy Pulse survey
by Shelton Group. A refinished kitchen or bathroom is higher on a homeowner’s
wish list than energy-efficient windows or a high-efficiency furnace, the study
finds. Consumers are reverting to their old priorities as the recession wanes,
the researchers say, perhaps at the expense of the
environment.
More visible, exciting home improvement
projects are on consumer wish lists, says
Suzanne
Shelton, whose firm conducted the study. “Anyone selling
energy-efficient products must either focus heavily on the aesthetic or comfort
aspects of their products or play up their environmental benefits in a big
way.”
The survey polled 504 Americans by telephone in
September and asked: "Assuming you were suddenly given $10,000 to make
home improvements, which two of the following would you choose?" The top
answers were:
- Refinish the kitchen or bathroom (37%)
- Replace carpet or add hardwood or tile (33%)
- Replace windows (31%)
- Replace HVAC/furnace
(23%)
Last year`s top answers were:
- Replace windows (35%)
- Replace HVAC/furnace
(27%)
- Remodel kitchen or bathroom (26%)
- Replace carpet or add hardwood or tile (25%)
The survey also uncovered:
Consumers are willing
to watch their energy bills go up more than 70%, on average, before feeling
forced to make energy-efficient home improvements. Respondents said their bills
would need to go up an average of $129 a month to make them undertake
renovations.
Shelton described this phenomenon as the
“Apathy Gap,” or the price people are willing to pay to do nothing. "Here
consumers are willing to waste more than $1,500 a year, or more than $4 a day,
before they take action. For that same amount, a homeowner could install
insulation or purchase one or two new Energy Star appliances to start seeing
immediate savings."
There is a
lot of pent-up demand for solar power. The survey asked, "How likely would
you be to buy a solar electricity system for your home, knowing that a mid-size
system that would provide around 63% of the average household's electricity, costs
$35,000-$40,000 that could be offset by a $2,000 federal tax incentive along
with additional rebates in many states."
Nearly 28%
said they would be likely or very likely to buy such a system. Fewer than 1%
reported they already had such a system.
This indicates a
great potential market for solar, Shelton said. "Consumers have been
waiting for solar to become more accessible and more affordable. Now, with
prices projected to fall even further, and with new federal tax incentive
greater than they've ever been, solar power will be on the
rise."
Consumers have good
intentions, but not very good follow-through. Shelton surveys over the past
five years, including this year, show consistently large discrepancies between
intentions and actions. Around 20% or more consumers say they are planning to
get an energy audit, yet the percentage of U.S. homeowners who've actually
gotten one has languished in the 10-15% range.
Shelton
refers to home energy audits as the “colonoscopy” of energy efficiency.
"Everyone knows they should get one, but too few actually do,” she
says.
Learn more about the Shelton Group annual surveys at
www.sheltongroupinc.com.
