Energy Efficiency: A Difficult Sell?

Compact Fluorescent light bulbs, recessed lighting, one power-strip to run TV, Internet, and cable on, not leaving anything on when not in use!  Those are some of the things consumers are told energy efficiency is all about. Simply put, it means to use less energy. Although energy efficiency seems simple enough, it also seems to be a tough sell as the rhetoric often does not emulate what many individuals do on a daily basis. Consequently, energy efficiency, while seeming to be quite simple in terms of compelling individuals to use less energy, can also be considered a tough sell from a marketing and communications standpoint. The difficulty of selling energy efficiency lies in defining what it means to use less energy.

In particular, energy efficiency has always been framed in terms of what individuals can do if given monetary incentives. For example, the energy efficient marketing entails "incentives for the installation of energy-efficient lighting and appliances which have known, persistent savings. However, it does little to create lasting demand for energy efficiency once a program's financial incentives run out." Consequently, the marketing of energy efficiency is simply framed in terms of the potential economic savings rather than the numerous benefits over and above financial in what can provide to consumers. As such, the average consumer may continue to buy energy efficient light bulbs as longs as the economic incentive is there, not because it is the right thing to do for the environment or anything else.

Therefore, it is clear that energy efficiency is a difficult sell because there has not been a good case made about how energy efficiency helps improve the environmental quality of all of us. Instead, energy efficiency has been marketed primarily in terms of how it may help with one's pocketbook in terms of saving on monthly utility bills. As such, energy efficiency should be framed differently than what it has traditionally been. For example, the average consumer should be made to feel good about buying a compact fluorescent light bulb so they will continually decide to do it even when no such subsidy or incentive exists for doing so.

Consequently, energy efficiency has been boiled down to economic terms, which is much easier to comprehend than the environmental benefits which are more varied and complex. The environmental benefits of energy efficiency are not necessarily readily apparent like the economic benefits since reduction in pollution, for example, may not be readily visible like the monthly cost savings with one's utility bills. As a result, it may be argued that energy efficiency is a difficult sell from an environmental standpoint so to market it effectively, it has to be framed in economic terms which are tangible and readily apparent.

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