The true price of a barrel of oil- the price reflecting adverse environmental and health costs of burning black gold- is much closer to $100 than $50. Yet this economic justification is not why I hope the price spikes. Energy efficiency services are easier to sell with high heating fuel costs- thats right, self interest business aspirations have me crossing my fingers for fuel price increases. If the economy improves, it is likely people will slacken their belts and commence building improvements, so the re-ignition of the economic engine is important too.
Why does it take struggle for people to schedule their home performance assessment? This season is slow, so it is the best time to get efficiency services as schedules are open and accessing and upgrading a home’s thermal envelope is easier.
The MA Utility program ‘free’ energy efficiency programs see similar patterns; summers are slow yet as oil tanks need to be refilled in late fall, there are backlogs for energy audits.
What is the outreach approach to change this pattern? Is a marketing campaign that portrays home performance as hip and cool the way to go? Perhaps playing off of our obsessive relationship for dollar savings with reduced energy bills is the way convince the masses that a $5k investment in thermal boundary upgrades is better spent than granite countertops.
