The Missing Link?

Here's the questions of the month, year maybe. We have the tools, equipment, knowledge and expertize to upgrade every home in our country by 2020. Why is no body interested? And; Where do we find the language to engage home owners in a convincing way to make their homes more efficient? There is the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) at one of the Left Coast labs that is looking for words that might key in a home owner's interest. Mostly- don't use words like "Audit", "Test", "Analysis", "Rater"or "Investigation." Better are words that relate to "Home", "Savings", "Healthy", "Guidance" and "Smart." Still, we have yet to find the communication tools to effectively connect with home owners in a way that promotes willing engagement in the whole house retrofit process. Until we do, this industry will continue to tread water. A recent survey monkey from RESNET looking for rater approval on a tag line is just lame. We need to break away from our common language. We are building scientists looking for a way to sell our products. Using our common language/terminology will only serve to confuse and alienate our customers. I would like to see us invite the CEO's of a couple of top rate PR/Ad companies to our conference in Orlando to explore why the common sense of a well financed whole house retrofit is not on the horizon for every home owner in the US! I think that we are essentially invisible to the average Joe because we have not engaged with first rate quality marketing strategies. Would that we were selling chocolate or trucks, something people want without being told why. Our product is complicated and fairly expensive (though a whole hose retrofit is usually less than a good used minivan), not simple to understand. Most people would rather spend $20K on a 4 year old F150 than improve their energy efficiency. Find me a pickup truck that will save me money, improve my family's health and increase in value over time! We have a great product, good skills and terrific personnel, what we are missing is effective marketing.

Reveille

Reveille, it is time to wake up.

Like him or not Jimmy Carter got one thing right. White House solar panels and cardigan sweaters on cold nights marked good thinking in response to the need for efficiency and conservation. Of course Mr. Reagan put the ca bash on that and we rode three decades of continuing unsustainable growth and excess. Today we are staring the results of peak demand and poor resource management in the eye, or not. It seems there is too little too late policy in place to respond to the issues of resource depletion and reduced air quality. It has been, and continues to be, abundantly clear that we are rapidly reaching the end of the rails in our looming train wreck. So much for the obvious.....

What to do? WAKE UP! A simple look around would help us see that most of the solutions we need to REDUCE, reuse and recycle are on the shelf. We needn't invent anything or look for any miraculous breakthroughs. Lack of awareness is the proverbial gorilla in the room. Issues surrounding home, fuel and energy efficiency are completely understood. There are no mysteries regarding the steps we need to take. We have the science and the processes available in abundance. So why are we continuing to burn at this wasteful and dangerous rate? Because we are, for the most part, asleep about the condition of our planet, locally and globally. We live in a dreamland that we can "produce" our way out of the quagmire we have created. I remember hearing Edward Abby in my college years claiming that if everyone in China got a refrigerator and a car we would destroy the place. Look at what is going on in China. Remember the scenes of bicycle traffic jams in Beijing? Well now they all have cars and the traffic jams last for days, weeks.

So it is time for Reveille - wake up to reality. A process started in Carter's era needs to be restarted. According to Secretary Chue at DOE we have about 2 decades to trend away from consumption towards conservation. We need to turn the corner before the pain gets to great, will we do that before it hurts to much?