Think about what that means for utility energy efficiency programs.
Most programs are designed around the assumption that customers will research, compare, and make a deliberate decision to buy an efficient product. The rebate application process, the approval timeline, the paperwork — all of it assumes a planned purchase.
But three out of four times, that's not what's happening. The water heater breaks on a Saturday morning. The fridge dies with a week's worth of groceries inside. The customer needs something installed this week.
In that moment, every barrier you put between the customer and an efficient product is a barrier that pushes them toward the cheapest, least efficient option available.
This is why we've become obsessed with removing friction at the point of purchase:
Instant rebates — applied automatically, no paperwork
Embedded financing — available at checkout, not after a 2-week approval
Fast fulfillment — the efficient option arrives within days, not weeks
When you design for how customers actually buy, participation scales in ways that traditional program design can't achieve.
I'll be digging into this with Lonnie Junderson, Steve Seminario, Andrew Erdos, and Moiz Qureshi at NEEA's Efficiency Exchange conference in Boise on May 5th.
If you're at EFX, come find me — I'd love to hear how your programs are handling emergency replacements.
Source: American Home Shield 2025 survey of 1,007 US homeowners
This is what we're focused on at Enervee — building the marketplace infrastructure that removes friction for utility customers at the moment of purchase. enervee.com/utilities