Consumer Education

Awareness Leads to Action

A main objective of your outreach efforts should be to educate your customers about their energy use. Informed customers are much more likely to seek out and participate in your programs. A variety of marketing tactics can be employed to help homeowners and businesses understand their energy consumption and identify savings opportunities.

Traditionally, utilities have used direct marketing approaches like mailing bill stuffers, in combination with mass media like TV, radio and print ads or news stories. Now, new technologies provide all sorts of mechanisms for utilities to deliver personalized information about a specific home or business’s energy use. These include online energy-audit tools, more advanced in-home or on-site audit technologies, feedback billing which can tell a consumer how their energy use compares to others, and “Smart Meters” which allow consumers to access their consumption information real-time through in-home displays or the internet.

Raising awareness about energy consumption is the first step towards building momentum for energy efficiency in your community. The resources in this section suggest strategies and opportunities to educate your customers about how they use energy, while the Encouraging Consumer Participation resources focus on messaging and tactics to increase energy efficiency program awareness and participation levels.