Associate Professor Steve Conrad is a co-author on a new report funded by the Department of Energy that examines attitudes around residential retrofit activity by homeowners.
The report – organized and authored by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy – used an online choice experiment to evaluate how owners viewed benefits from energy efficiency upgrades in the context of the broader housing market. It also looked at their views on the potential long-term return on investment from those changes. The report surveyed 1,500 owners in the U.S. and builds on past research around the need for systems based or comprehensive energy retrofits in residential homes by Conrad.
Comprehensive retrofit renovations, as defined in the report, broadly include activities designed to achieve at least a 20 percent reduction in household energy consumption – a key goal and strategy nationally in combatting climate change. Uptake of these kinds of improvements has generally been low, however.
Owners typically have elected for single improvements such as updating insulation rather than taking on a more expensive combination of projects that could deliver substantially higher energy and cost savings long-term while also supporting national climate change goals. That includes updating windows and heating systems simultaneously, for example, which can provide needed scale but are often financially out of reach for individual owners.
Conrad is part of the Systems Engineering Department at Colorado State University. He said the report shows that many owners are willing and likely financially able to take on smaller efficiency projects. And that there are plenty of federal, regional and local rebate programs to help with the cost of increasing the scale of these projects. The disconnect is likely due to confusing messaging about types of available financial support and the benefits of taking on a larger portfolio of activity for owners, such as increased property value and better overall efficiency.
The researchers found that highlighting specific programs such as tax credits or zero percent interest loans that can be distributed at key moments, like right after purchase of a home, could significantly spur larger uptake by owners. They also found that some demographics may be more interested in shifting to larger packages if they were already considering changes to heating systems or appliances.
Conrad said that is where contractors skilled enough to do multiple types of projects and aware of available subsidies for them could help with uptake.
“That may look like staggering projects to take advantage of different credits or showing a menu of projects and their potential return above homeowners’ investment when done at the same time,” he said.
Conrad added that the report also explores how the existing marketing and outreach efforts may be disproportionately preventing low-income owners from making these changes. He said that is a key group that will likely need to be better engaged to reach residential emissions goals nationally, because energy costs may eventually become too high for them to manage without updates.
The report complements a larger set of research Conrad has been doing to understand attitudes around residential home energy efficiency. His previous work with the nonprofit and DOE has explored how energy efficiency may impact homebuyer and renter decisions, showing that both groups are willing to pay for more energy efficient options. He has also studied how best to illustrate energy efficiency so both the buyer and seller understand the value of changes – especially in relation to other key factors like location, comfort and upkeep costs.
