Achieving High Performance in the Home Energy Services Market

Countries across the world are implementing measures to stimulate awareness of and drive environmental consciousness. One of the latest countries is the United Kingdom with the Energy Act 2011. Part of this legislation is the Green Deal which aims to retrofit 27 million households in the United Kingdom with energy efficient measures. The Green Deal has the potential to act as catalyst for growth in the home energy services market; an industry that has grown with a mere one percent over the past five years. Through the Green Deal, consumers have access to energy-efficient measures at no upfront cost.

This Accenture research set out to find out if UK consumers are committed to socially responsible behaviour and what potential successes the Green Deal hold. During the research, a number of energy saving measures were looked at, their initial cost and the savings it would generate over its lifetime. Measures included items from as quick and simple as energy saving light bulbs, condensing boilers, internal wall insulation and underfloor heating. Furthermore, this study also included findings from a 2010 Accenture study, Understanding Consumer Preferences in Energy Efficiency.

Consumers are not only interested in the potential cost savings of energy saving initiatives. For most, there are specific outcomes they are interested in, including making their home more comfortable, more convenient to manage and more attractive. The home energy services market can benefit from the Green Deal as a measure like this is necessary to stimulate market and consumer adoption, but it alone cannot drive its growth. It is imperative for providers to understand consumer behaviour when it comes to energy saving initiatives and not only focus on the financial outcome.