Consumers are willing to invest in a more energy-efficient house

Building energy efficient is the first step toward achieving sustainability in buildings and organizations. The same accounts for households that can also benefit from the cost reductions and, in some cases, government grants for making their house more energy-efficient. In the quarterly research theme on sustainability USP Marketing Consultancy investigated how consumers look at various sustainability aspects: are they willing to pay for sustainability labels, what materials do they consider to be sustainable, and what energy saving measures are they taking in the short term? These are some of the questions that were asked to 3.000 consumers in the European Home Improvement Monitor during the quarterly theme "sustainability”.

Italian, German and Polish consumers most positive on investing in energy-saving

About a third of the European consumers are willing to invest in making their home more energy-efficient in the coming 12 months. Especially in Italy, Poland and Germany the willingness for these investments among consumers is relatively high. Contrary to this, in Austria /Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands more than half of the consumers do not want to invest in making their home more energy-efficient. The consumers who have short term plans were asked in which energy-saving measures they would care to invest.

Top ten most favorable products to invest in for energy-saving

The consumers who have short term plans to save-energy will mainly invest in LED lights, energy-saving bulbs and energy-efficient household appliances. In Italy and The Netherlands solar panels were also mentioned quite often, while in France and Spain many consumers (who plan to save energy) mentioned they will invest in a water-saving showerhead. Below the top ten of the energy-saving measures that were mentioned by the European consumers:
1. LED lights
2. Energy-saving bulbs
3. Energy-efficient household appliances
4. Water-saving showerhead
5. Water-conserving toilet
6. Weather stripping
7. Solar panels
8. Roof insulation
9. High-efficiency boiler
10. Thermopane glass

The European Home Improvement Monitor

The European residential new build market currently has limited growth potential. Due to the economic recession the new build volumes have dropped dramatically. The renovation and refurbishment sector on the other hand has become relatively important and it is expected its importance will grow. There is a lot of information available about the DIY market and the renovation market in the professional segment. However, there's no source that gives insight in the size of the total home improvement market, so both jobs done by consumers and professionals, and the main trends in this market. The European Home Improvement Monitor is the first research that monitors the market size and main trends in the European home improvement market on a continuous basis.

Each month 1.000 successful interviews are conducted across Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In addition, the regions Scandinavia and Austria-Switzerland are also included in the research. This means that 12.000 interviews are conducted among European consumers on a yearly basis. The results from this research are reported in on a quarterly basis and show the development of the market in terms of purchase volume and purchase channels. Furthermore, each quarter in-depth insight is given in topics which are actual in the market.