Ecova Surveys Consumer Preferences for Utility Lighting Programs
Ecova, a total energy and sustainability management company, published the findings from Adaptive Self-Explicated Multi-Attribute Preference (ASEMAP) surveys that identified key customer preferences when purchasing lamps (light bulbs) for residential use. Ecova believes that as energy-efficient lighting legislation comes into effect, lighting planning studies like these offer key insights on customer preferences and the design of utility lighting programs.
According to the ASEMAP surveys, price and longevity were consistently the leading considerations for consumers purchasing lamps, regardless of type. In the utility regions surveyed, however, annual energy savings is also becoming increasingly important, ranking third for most applications.
“The results of our surveys show that consumers will continue to benefit from lower utility costs via utility programs designed to reduce residential lighting energy use through innovative lighting efficiency programs,” said Ted Schultz, senior vice president of strategy and innovation, Ecova.
Research report conclusions
As federal lighting standards come into effect, general purpose CFLs still provide significant savings opportunities for a large portion of household lighting applications, but as CFLs reach market saturation, promotional efforts may not be as successful. High-efficiency LED and 2X halogens are hitting the market, and these lamps have multiple applications that will appeal to consumers in a wide variety of sockets within homes.
Utility programs will play a large role in spurring adoption of these new technologies and educating consumers. Utility lighting programs will be more successful if they incentivize high-quality products that have all the characteristics of incandescent light bulbs, such as being compatible with dimmers and motion detectors, for a positive consumer experience.
An overview of the study results and program recommendations are available for free download.
About Ecova
Ecova is the total energy and sustainability management company for its clients. Using insights based on consumption, cost and carbon footprint data spanning thousands of utilities, hundreds of thousands of business sites and millions of households, Ecova provides fully managed, technology-optimized solutions for saving resources, which in turn increase returns, lower risks, and enhance reputations.
Ecova is the largest non-regulated subsidiary of Avista Corp.
Source: ecova.com