August 11th, 2010

From Green Right Now Reports

According to a recent survey, 59 percent of Americans considered green alternatives for their home improvement projects in the last quarter, with window energy efficiency a runaway leader when it came to the final decision. ServiceMagic’s Q2 Home Remodeling and Repair Index reported an 81 percent increase in window upgrades from the same quarter in 2009.

Beyond window improvements, however, the survey found little enthusiasm for other green or energy efficient projects, and little impact from federal tax credits.

Among findings:

• Only 10 percent of homeowners surveyed were motivated to undertake home improvement projects because of tax credits.
• Of those who invested in windows for energy reasons, cost savings was the top motivation.
• Top reasons homeowners did not request energy efficient window systems were expense, a belief that the tax credit did not justify the cost, or a lack of awareness of tax credits.
• For homeowners who did not consider green options, 50 percent were not aware of them, 27 percent didn’t like green product choices, and 16 percent believed cost outweighed benefits.
• Some 62 percent of service professionals surveyed indicated that less than 10 percent of their customers asked about green or energy efficient options.

“A surprising trend this quarter is what we are learning about consumer purchasing behavior around green and energy efficiency,” said Craig Smith, CEO for ServiceMagic. “While we show a fairly decent level of awareness for green and energy efficient alternatives, it isn’t translating to action beyond window projects.”

The survey compiled data from 1.6 million service requests received through ServiceMagic’s online marketplace from May to July of this year, as well as results from a survey of over 1,200 homeowners and 500 service professionals conducted in July 2010.