Andrew Rosenthal, "What do you think makes your home energy inefficient? (Cumulative Q.22b/25b)", contributed by Andrew Rosenthal, Alison Kenner, Briana Leone, Morgan Sarao and James Adams, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 6 June 2022, accessed 27 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/what-do-you-think-makes-your-home-energy-inefficient-cumulative-q22b25b
Critical Commentary
This chart reflects responses to Question #25b from the Spring 2020 and Winter 2020 survey and Question #22b from the Spring 2021 survey, which asked “What do you think makes your home energy inefficient?” This was a check-all-that-apply question, and there were 222 cumulative responses. The options for this question were as follows:
I don't use energy saving light bulbs
My home does not use any renewable energy sources
My home is not well insulated
I don't practice conservation
My windows are drafty
I have older-model appliances
My electrical wiring has not been updated
My stove emits gas when I use it
My behaviors make my home energy inefficient
I don't know
Other
Respondents could choose multiple answers.
One hundred respondents (45.1%) said their windows are drafty.
Sixty respondents (27%) said their home is not well insulated.
Thirty-three respondents (14.9%) answered that their home does not use renewable energy.
Thirty respondents (13.5%) answered that they did not know.
Twenty-nine respondents (13.1%) answered that their home has outdated appliances.
Twenty-five respondents (11.3%) answered that their behavior is why their home is energy inefficient.
Twelve respondents (5.4%) answered that their electrical wiring is old.
Fourteen respondents (6.3%) answered that they don’t use LED light bulbs.
Seven respondents (3.2%) answered that they don’t practice conservation.
Eleven respondents (5%) answered that their stove emits gas when they use it.
Forty-one respondents (18.5%) picked “other” with responses mentioned having an air conditioning unit, living in an old house, ventilation problems in their home,having a faulty heater, having a large crawl space, having a dirt basement, and having many radiators throughout one’s home as sources of energy inefficiency.
The data was produced by the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 Survey, which has been administered to 234 people over two time periods. The Spring 2020 survey was administered to 86 people between May and June, and the Winter 2020 survey was administered to 83 people between December 2020 and March 2021 The Spring 2021 survey was administered to 65 people between March 2021 and June 2021. Visit the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 - Spring + Winter 2020 Survey Results page to view more data from our survey. The project is approved by Drexel’s IRB.