Sustainable Energy Utility > Market Research
Research Points the Way to Save Money and Energy
To develop a strong understanding of the opportunities that could offer low and no-cost savings opportunities for the state's residents and businesses, Energize Delaware conducted research on the public's perception and in-depth analysis of energy use over the last few years. The research provided a comprehensive zip-code level snapshot of energy use in homes and businesses throughout Delaware. It showed that more than 80 percent of home energy consumption is from appliances, space heating and cooling, lighting and generating hot water - all areas now addressed by Energize Delaware programs.
Learn more about the SEU’s research efforts through this Presentation. Below are some highlights of what we learned:
- Nearly 9 out of 10 Delaware adults report they have made at least one energy-saving home improvement in the past five years, but two-thirds indicate that they need to do more. The most common improvements made are reducing air leaks around the home with caulking, sealant and weather-stripping, followed by adding insulation to the walls and attic.
- Twenty-three percent of Delawareans plan to replace a major appliance in the next year with an ENERGY STAR® qualified model. Removing the old appliance, particularly a second inefficient refrigerator or freezer, is equally important and of the households surveyed about 40 percent are using their old appliances in their basement or garage.
- Most Delawareans want to do more but don’t have ready access to the resources that can help them maximize available savings opportunities.
Informed, engaged Delawareans can become the state’s greatest power source. Energize Delaware’s one-stop resource can help you know more to save more.
For Delaware homes, market research shows:
- Delaware uses more energy per capita than our neighbors, and we pay more for it.
- There are 321,000 homes in Delaware. Fifty-five percent are more than 30 years-old. Simply sealing and insulating these homes could save up to 30 percent or about $700 on heating and cooling bills.
- More than 80 percent of home energy consumption is from appliances, space heating and cooling, lighting and generating hot water.
- Two-thirds of homeowners identified a need to make one or more energy efficiency improvements, but only 42 percent plan to take action.
- Homeowners cite money as the number one barrier to cutting energy waste to reduce utility bills.
- There are 13.4 million residential sockets in Delaware, with 85 percent estimated to hold inefficient incandescent bulbs. 44% of Delawareans have no energy efficiency light bulbs or at most only one or two.
- Nearly 15 percent of a residential energy bill is spent running major appliances. Research found that less than 30% of the households in Delaware own an ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator. While 23 percent of Delawareans surveyed plan to replace a major appliance in the next year, the potential for savings is significant.
For Delaware’s commercial sector, market research shows:
- 20,000 commercial establishments statewide occupy more than 15,000 buildings.
- 240 million square feet of commercial building space.
- Commercial buildings consume between 24 and 29 trillion BTUs of energy annually.
- Electricity consumption for lighting in Delaware’s commercial office buildings is nearly double the amount of energy use for any other type of commercial space (retail, food service, houses of worship, hospitals, etc.).
- Lighting consumes more energy per square foot in health care facilities than in any other type of commercial space, enough to light 248,000 homes for a year (65 percent of Delaware’s residences).
- Money is cited by businesses as the number one barrier to taking action to reduce energy consumption.
- In restaurants and grocery stores, refrigeration counts for 5% of total energy consumption for all fuels. The amount of electricity used by refrigeration is estimated at 380,000 MWhs per year.
- Delaware hospitals and health clinics use more energy per square foot in lighting than any other type of commercial space.
- With a median age of 49 years, inefficient space heating and cooling consumes 47 percent of energy use in Delaware schools.
