Talk Amongst Yourselves: How to Market Energy Efficiency as the Ultimate Home Improvement

Photo by Tyrone Turner. This photo first appeared in the March 2009 issue of National Geographic.

The cover story of the March 2009 issue of National Geographic is a first hand account of one household's attempt to go on a "carbon diet" - that is, to maximize energy conservation in an effort to minimize the CO2 emissions brought about through transportation, electricity and natural gas use and even food choices. (As more and more publications document the total carbon cost of a meat-centric diet, many eco-geeks like myself are starting to wonder whether it may be vital for people to switch to a vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian diet¹ to further slash our global carbon footprint.) While the article as a whole was tremendously interesting and inspiring, there were a few points that dismayed me - namely, the reasons named for why most Americans don't seek to make their homes more energy efficient, and therefore greener. For example, the owners of office buildings have less of an incentive to "green" their properties because their tenants are the ones paying the utility bills. As for homeowners, author Peter Miller explains their lack of motivation thusly:

"In a 2007 survey of Americans, 60 percent said they didn't have enough savings to pay for energy-related renovations. If given an extra $10,000 to work with, only 24 percent said they would invest in efficiency. What did the rest want? Granite countertops."

I'm not an expert in real estate, but it seems to me that an investment in granite countertops would be for purely aesthetic reasons as opposed to any functional benefits. Stone surfaces are indeed sturdy, but their presence in a home is usually meant to evoke opulence, luxury and sophistication. These qualities are fine - no one wants to live in a tacky or shabby home - but why spend money on such improvements when investments in energy efficiency can lead not only to lower utility bills, but also the possibility of a higher resale value?

Think of it this way - people do want a home that looks nice, but wouldn't they also want a home that could save them money? Imagine touring a home with a realtor and hearing that in addition to the bedrooms and bathrooms, the house has been fitted with geothermal heating and rooftop solar panels that could moderately or even significantly reduce home heating and power bills? While low flow toilets and shower heads are mainstream, what about a house equipped with a tankless water heater that could not only provide nearly immediate hot water but also further slash power consumption and bills? (Conventional water heaters are notorious for the amount of energy they consume.) There are a number of improvements that could streamline a home's power consumption, and it's true that prospective buyers would have to complete the circle with the use of efficient appliances. Still, it's a scenario that has been neglected despite its promise. The question is, how do you convince homeowners that investing in green home improvement will reap benefits during the mid- and long term, as well as when the time comes to sell?

That is the question I would like to pose to my readers. Would my scenario of green home improvements work? As a buyer, would you be more likely to consider a home with eco-friendly attributes that could save you money? As a seller, do you think you could adequately market the value-added aspects of an energy-efficient home in a time when buyers seem more concerned with a visual "wow" factor? Have you made home improvements that have been good for your wallet and your world? What sort of results have you seen for your efforts? I look forward to reading your comments.



¹Despite my Midwestern, meat-and-potatoes roots, I've attempted the flexitarian plan in fits and spurts since September 2007, with my first experiment spurred on both by concern about the environmental impact of my lifestyle and an unwitting encounter with poitin, which left me so sickened that the thought of any sort of meat was more than I could, er, stomach. While it isn't easy at first, I have noticed that I generally feel healthier when eating flexitarian, and it's inspired me to seek out more vegetarian, unprocessed and "whole" foods. Even if the environmental impact were minimal, the health benefits are reason enough for me to stick with it.