Energy Insights: Profitability, Compliance and Sustainability

Building industry professionals and consumers want progress on decarbonization. Learn more about how to get there.

With 2024 on track to be the hottest year on record—and widespread acknowledgement of the role that buildings are a major contributor to global emissions—consumers and building industry professionals are ready to embrace change. 

Whether it’s adding solar and storage, smart electrical panels or a demand side energy management system, consumers are willing to pay for upgrades. Builders are exploring new ways to add value for their buyers while meeting regulatory mandates and their internal sustainability goals. 

The Pro Perspective: Practical, Profitable or Both

Builders, contractors and manufacturers must meet ongoing challenges every day. They need to maintain high quality standards, manage their teams, meet customer demand and generate a profit to keep their business growing. They must choose which investments to make in technology, products and innovations that provide higher levels of energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions. 

While builders are about as willing to embrace some technologies in 2024 as they were in 2023, such as efficient appliances and lighting, and solar photovoltaics, other new energy efficient technologies such as demand side energy management systems are generating more interest in 2024.

For example, greywater systems moved to second place on the list of intriguing technologies that builders are willing to embrace. Heat pump dryers moved up, along with heat pump water heaters, hot water recycling systems, whole house indoor air quality systems and induction cooktops. 

Source: COGNITION Smart Data

The Consumer Perspective

While affordability is top of mind for most consumers, there’s growing recognition that investing in an energy efficient, resilient, smart, healthy home now generates lower long-term costs.

Consumers are most willing to embrace technology they’re familiar with and those that are easy to understand. Beyond the basics of energy efficient appliances and lighting, along with high performance windows and doors, homeowners are interested in solar panels and storage for resilience as well as energy savings. 

Cool roofs, heat pump HVACs and heat pump water heaters are also generating interest among homeowners looking to mitigate climate impacts, make their home more resilient to power outages and reduce costs. 

Source: COGNITION Smart Data

For more insights into how builders and consumers are reacting to innovations such as smart electrical panels and demand side energy management systems, check out COGNITION Smart Data or order your Energy Insights Report.