Why Aren’t Customers Saying Yes to Energy Efficiency?

Energy efficiency programs offer customers opportunities to save energy, improve home comfort, and upgrade their homes. So why don’t more customers take advantage of them? For utilities, increasing participation takes more than offering attractive incentives. Customers also need to understand their options, see how an offer fits their lives, and feel confident taking the next step. 

In a recent webinar with Latitude Media, Resource Innovations explored how utilities can turn those opportunities into action. This article recaps key insights from the discussion, where speakers from PNM, ComEd, and EcoMize shared practical examples of how simplifying program experiences, providing hands-on education, and guiding customers through installation can help address barriers to participation. 

Why Aren’t Customers Taking Action?

Customers have a lot competing for their attention. Between work, family responsibilities, household bills, home repairs, and everyday errands, energy efficiency upgrades may not always make the priority list—even when the benefits are clear.

Cost can be another obstacle. An upgrade may offer long-term savings, but the upfront expense can be difficult to justify alongside other household costs. Customers may also struggle to navigate program requirements, complete enrollment steps, or determine which products and incentives apply to them.

And often, the biggest barrier is uncertainty. Is this the right solution for my home? Will it deliver the benefits I expect? How do I get started?

When customers have to spend time figuring out an offer or aren't sure what to expect, they may put off taking action or pass on the opportunity altogether. Understanding these everyday challenges can help utilities design programs that are easier to navigate and more appealing to customers.

How Can Utilities Make Participation Easier?

Utilities can address barriers to participation by designing programs around customer needs and making each step easier to navigate. Clear communications help customers understand available offers, incentives, and benefits. Simplified enrollment processes reduce the time and effort required to participate, while guidance from utilities and contractors can help customers identify solutions that fit their needs.

The webinar highlighted how these principles can translate into practical improvements, starting with the way customers discover and purchase energy efficiency products.

Webinar Insight: PNM Improves the Customer Experience to Make Participation Easier

Changes made by PNM to their Easy Savings Kit Program illustrate how removing unnecessary steps can make an energy efficiency offer easier for customers to act on.

PNM simplified the customer validation process by using a unique coupon code tied to required customer data, increasing conversion, and customers' willingness to engage with the offer.

Targeted marketing supported outreach, and customer feedback provided insights to inform future program improvements and identify opportunities to connect customers with other offerings.

The takeaway: A compelling offer is only part of the equation. Making it easy to act on is a critical component of the customer experience.

How Can Utilities Build Confidence in New Technologies?

Even when customers are interested in energy efficiency, unfamiliar technologies can raise questions that prevent them from moving forward. Customers may need more than a description of a product or a list of its benefits. They may want to see how it works, understand its advantages, and determine whether it's right for their homes.

Hands-on experiences can help bridge that knowledge gap, giving customers opportunities to explore unfamiliar technologies and learn about their options.

Webinar Insight: ComEd Brings Electrification Technologies to Life

ComEd’s experience with the Benefication Lab highlights how interactive education can help address gaps in customer awareness and familiarity.

When customers aren't familiar with a technology, they may have unanswered questions about how it works, what benefits it offers, and whether it makes sense for their homes, making increased adoption nearly impossible.

The Benefication Lab complemented ComEd's existing outreach by giving customers the chance to explore a range of electric equipment firsthand and learn about its benefits. Rather than relying on information alone, the Lab offers a tangible way to introduce customers to electrification technologies and help them become more familiar with their options. By meeting customers where they are with a unique experiential activation, ComEd created a series of meaningful moments that may pay future dividends.

The approach was seen as a way to build awareness across multiple technologies, and ComEd plans to bring the Lab back in 2027 to continue these outreach efforts.

The takeaway: Hands-on education can make unfamiliar technologies more approachable, helping customers better understand their options and make informed decisions.

How Can We Bridge the Gap Between Interest and Installation?

Building awareness is an important first step, but customer interest doesn't always translate into installation. Unlike familiar products such as light bulbs, technologies like heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) can introduce new questions about a home's suitability, installation requirements, and what to expect from the process.

Contractors play an important role in addressing these concerns, anticipating potential obstacles, and helping customers navigate the path to installation. Utilities and their program partners can support this process by simplifying the practical steps involved and giving customers guidance along the way.

Webinar Insight: Using Technology to Bridge the Gap

EcoMize, a full-service HVAC company, shared its experience with Product Advisor Plus, a dedicated digital platform developed by RI to increase HPWH adoption through an orchestrated, localized supply chain. Customers can utilize the Product Advisor widget, a platform that begins with a six-question assessment, to assess product fit for their home. The widget analyzes their responses to assess important installation actors such as available space, clearance, accessibility, drainage, and electrical access. This helps customers determine whether their home may be a good fit for the technology.

For customers who meet the installation requirements, the process continues with a virtual visit. During the visit, an EcoMize contractor verifies information about the home, addresses potential installation concerns, and answers customer questions. This interaction gives customers an opportunity to discuss their specific circumstances while helping build confidence in the contractor and the installation plan. Customers who are deemed a good fit for the technology unlock a fixed-price installation fee, removing the uncertainty of project costs and making them more likely to proceed with the retrofit.

EcoMize described the platform as an “unmitigated success,” underscoring the value of a process that helps customers understand what to expect and feel more confident taking the next step.

The takeaway: Helping customers adopt new technologies requires more than raising awareness. By addressing practical questions early and simplifying the path to installation, utilities and their partners can help turn interest into action.

Three Ways to Strengthen Energy Efficiency Program Participation

The webinar pointed to three priorities for utilities looking to improve the customer experience and support program goals:

Understand what's holding customers back. Cost, competing priorities, complex processes, and uncertainty can keep customers from pursuing energy efficiency opportunities.

Make the next step easy. Clear communications, relevant offers, and streamlined processes reduce the effort required to participate and help customers move from interest to action.

Build confidence through education. Hands-on experiences and practical support from program partners can help customers understand unfamiliar technologies, evaluate their options, and navigate the path to installation.

Improving participation starts with understanding the customer experience from the customer's perspective. By addressing practical barriers at each stage—from exploring an offer to completing an installation—utilities can make energy efficiency opportunities easier to access and act on.

What might be keeping your customers from taking advantage of the programs you offer?

Watch the webinar recording for more insights and practical examples. If your utility is looking to address participation barriers and improve the customer experience, contact our team to discuss how Resource Innovations can help.