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Page added on December 19, 2012
What Your Potential Customers Should Know About Energy Prices
Recently, the folks at Grist tipped us off to some interesting new stats from the Consumer Price Index that show how prices of various commodities in the U.S. economy have changed over the past year.
We think that, for companies offering home performance and energy efficiency services, the story these numbers tell should be right up towards the front and center when conveying the benefits of energy efficiency improvements in buildings.
Why?
Energy costs are incredibly volatile, and home energy efficiency is the best alternative to worrying about volatile energy costs.
When energy is cheap, it can be all too easy to dismiss thoughts of energy efficiency improvements. The proposition gets more attractive when energy costs spike again. The problem is that we have no sure way to know when that will happen. The safe option is to invest in energy efficiency improvements now, so as to avoid getting caught off guard when costs rise again.
Here’s a chart showing energy prices, food prices, and everything else over the past 6 months:
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As you can see, energy is all over the map. If food prices were to fluctuate to the same extent as energy, we would certainly hear about it. There would be a rush to plant gardens, to find alternative food sources, and possibly to put regulations in place to control costs. With energy, have we simply gotten so used to the price volatility that we’re desensitized? Well, we certainly shouldn’t be.
Here’s another chart that breaks down the costs of different energy sources:
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So, are visitors to your site aware of how your services can help protect them from high energy prices? Do they understand that home energy efficiency is just as critical from an environmental and economic standpoint as vehicle fuel efficiency? They should!Maybe it’s because gasoline is the most volatile, that that’s what we typically focus on. Electricity stays pretty level. But, of course, most North American homes aren’t heated with electricity; they’re heated with either natural gas or fuel oil. The price spikes of these energy sources, just over the past 6 months, highlight the need to fix our homes so that we’re insulated from this price volatility.
4 Comments on "What Your Potential Customers Should Know About Energy Prices"
BillT on Thu, 20th Dec 2012 3:35 am
You are telling a country that is in a depression that they need to spend to make their underwater homes more heat efficient? Those same folks that have been out of work, maybe for years, or are nervous about the possibility, to go out and spend? Most homes cannot be upgraded to make a real difference without spending thousands. They were never designed to be efficient. They were designed so the consumer had to spend. Yes, there are a few things that can be done to older homes for maybe a few hundred dollars, but those who own such homes seldom have any dollars to spend on anything except necessities. Better they just abandon heating most of their homes and cut their use by turning down the thermostat and putting on a sweater.
Kenz300 on Thu, 20th Dec 2012 4:35 pm
Saving energy saves money…..
Making your home more efficient pays in the long run.
As the price of oil and other forms of energy continue to go higher we will all become more aware of our energy use and its cost. We will walk a little more, ride a bicycle a little more and take mass transit a little more. We will even make energy efficiency a bigger part of our buying decisions when we buy a car, new furnace, an appliance or even a light bulb.
High energy prices will cause even the most energy wasteful people to rethink how they spend their money.
Wm Scott Anderson on Fri, 21st Dec 2012 12:03 am
I hardly agree, improving the energy efficiency of your home is key to your future finical survival. I lost my job last spring, and the improvements I made earlier are really helping our bottom line. I wrote a book about all the things you can do, and some of them cost you nothing to do, and many cost very little. Yes the big ones cost big, so not every one will able to do them, but every bit helps when money is short. I just learned a good one this week. I have a high efficiency gas furnace, and I noticed that it has had a habit of short cycling on the burner cycle with the burner cutting in and out, so I adjusted the gas valve pressure regulator to reduce the size of the gas flame. Now when I put my hand by the exhaust, it is much cooler, much more of the heat is staying in the house. I look forward to seeing a reduction on my gas bill, and that took five minutes and a screwdriver. If you know what to do, there are a lot of things you can do. I wrote a book called “Keeping Warm in Hard Times” that will teach you how to reduce your heating costs and AC costs, as when what to do when there is no electricity or gas to heat with. Information is indeed power, and sometimes it is heat too.
http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Warm-Hard-Times-Heating/dp/144954178X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348801382&sr=1-1&keywords=keeping+warm+in+hard+times
BillT on Fri, 21st Dec 2012 12:40 am
What future savings, Kenz? There will be no savings as you will likely not even own that home you share with the bank. If you do, you will be using every penny for today’s necessities, not some future savings. You have the right ideas, but it is too late. The US does not have years and decades. Maybe months or at best a few years before it all collapses. Turn down the thermostat. That is free. Wear an extra shirt. Wear long-john underwear. Do all the things that your grandparents did before there was central heating. Tear out the A/C. You don’t need it. Sell one car and only use the other for places you HAVE to go that you cannot walk or bike to. THAT is saving. All else is cosmetic ‘feel-good’ stuff.