Underestimating our consumptive aptitude

Survey sees energy efficiency slipping down consumer priority list

"The survey also found that consumers are willing to watch their energy bills go up more than 70 percent, on average, before feeling forced to make energy-efficient home improvements. Respondents said their bills would need to go up an average of $129 a month to make them undertake renovations. “We call this phenomenon the ‘Apathy Gap,’ the price people are willing to pay to do nothing,” Shelton says. “Here consumers are willing to waste more than $1,500 a year, or more than $4 a day, before they’ll take action. For that same amount, a homeowner could install insulation or purchase one or two new Energy Star appliances to start seeing immediate savings.”

In related news:
Cash for Clunkers, household edition