Overcoming consumer resistance to energy efficiency by taking and evolutionary approach to DSM - starting with compact fluorescent lamps
Utilities sponsoring a residential DMS program share the same goal. They want their customers to be able - and eager - to purchase energy-efficient products through normal retail distribution channels. Toward this end, many utilities are aggressively promoting energy-efficient technologies for the home through rebates and giveaways. The results have been mixed. There have been a few outright failures, while most utilities have achieved moderate levels of participation across the customer base. Then there are those residential DSM programs with substantially higher rates of customer participation. What, if anything, do these programs have in common that might account for their success? Perhaps the most important thing shared by successful programs is the attitude of the people who run them. They resist the urge to rush consumers into purchasing through retail channels, and instead adopt an {open_quotes}evolutionary{close_quotes} approach to DSM. First, they give customers the chance to become comfortable with energy-efficient technologies. Then, they gradually wean them off rebates. When the time is right, they finally persuade customers to purchase through retail outlets.
- OSTI ID:
- 54780
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941218--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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