Propane provides energy-efficient solution for growing trend
The results are in and residential customers agree: energy efficiency is a top priority. In fact, an overwhelming majority of your potential customers—driven by cost savings and environmental impact—expressed a high consideration for both energy-efficient appliances and green homes. They expressed a willingness to pay more for them, too.
That’s according to a study commissioned by the Propane Education & Research Council and conducted by an independent third-party research firm, Harris Insights & Analytics, also known as The Harris Poll. The survey results consisted of feedback from 2,200 U.S. residents who said they would soon buy, remodel, or build a home. Additionally, 200 construction professionals provided input.
These survey results highlight an opportunity for professional home builders to capitalize on a growing trend among customers who are clamoring for energy-efficient home solutions.
Advertisement
Customers are prioritizing energy efficiency and are willing to pay more, too.
Many of those surveyed preferred both energy-efficient appliances and high-performance homes. Notably, a large majority of residential audiences surveyed say that it’s a “very high” or “somewhat high” priority for their new or remodeled home to be energy efficient — 78 percent of residents remodeling a home, 87 percent of residents buying an already developed home, and 89 percent of residents building a home.
What’s more, when asked about adding a new appliance or replacing a current one, preference for energy-efficient appliances was almost unanimous across all audiences, with 91 percent of residents buying or building a home, 92 percent of residents remodeling a home, and 95 percent of construction professionals expressing interest.
Cost savings or environmental impact were the driving factors when asked why respondents would or wouldn’t be willing to consider an energy-efficient home. In fact, an average of 55 percent of customers remodeling a home gave cost savings as their top reason for making energy efficiency a priority. Other reasons were better performance, better for their neighborhood or community, or meeting state and federal energy-efficiency codes.
Residential audiences also expressed a willingness to pay more for an energy efficient home — 81 percent of customers remodeling a home, 88 percent of customers buying a home, and 96 percent of customers building a home.
Among the three residential respondent categories, the average amount respondents were willing to pay fell between 25 and 38 percent more.
Construction professionals don’t see this trend slowing down.
The survey also revealed that energy efficiency is already a common topic of discussion between professionals and their customers. Of the construction professionals surveyed, nine in 10 said that they are being asked about energy-efficient methods by residential customers. Moreover, nine in10 also indicated that they proactively recommend energy-efficient construction methods.
And this trend is only expected to grow. Three in 10 homebuilders say the demand for high-performance homes “increased significantly” in the last few years, while 65 percent expect demand to increase significantly over the next five to 20 years.
How do these results help home builders?
In order to best serve this growing customer base, construction professionals can use these insights to help inform their building practices. Being well-versed in energy-efficient propane appliances, and how they can impact a home’s overall energy consumption, will set construction professionals up for success.
There has never been a better time to build and remodel homes using propane as the primary energy source. Propane provides an efficient, sustainable solution for all of a home’s major energy systems, and residential customers are taking notice. Sixty-eight percent of respondents agreed that energy-efficient propane appliances significantly lower a home’s energy consumption and monthly energy bill compared with similar electric appliances. Further, 62 percent agreed that it takes about three times as much electricity to produce and deliver the same amount of energy to a home as propane.
With propane-powered appliances, customers are getting optimal energy performance, and the cost savings that result. They are also getting clean, reliable, on-site energy, and power to just about anything in a home, including: furnaces, boilers, tankless and storage water heaters, ranges and ovens, clothes dryers, fireplaces and standby generators.
As residential customers continue to seek out efficient, sustainable home performance, construction professionals should be recommending propane solutions. Propane-powered appliances offer considerable advantages over other systems when it comes to performance, efficiency, and environmental impact. Plus, propane can help professionals stand out from the competition, build their reputation, and grow their business.
Visit propane.com/for-my-business/residential-construction to learn more about the benefits of propane appliances.
Article courtesy of Bryan Cordill, director of residential and commercial business development at the Propane Education & Research Council. He can be reached at bryan.cordill@propane.com.