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Consumers are not purchasing high-performance building energy technologies at the necessary speed and scale to meet decarbonization goals due to a gap in institutional understanding around what consumers want, need, or value. Our objective is to build consumer confidence around building technology adoption by exploring in-market existing and novel business models for building energy technologies and to identify opportunities to speed up adoption. With a focus on difficult-to-reach communities, participants will collaborate to develop solutions to address weaknesses in current business model weaknesses so that building energy technologies are marketed, bought, sold and, ultimately, adopted at an increased rate.

For example, a recent study found that in the U.S. per capita emissions are higher in Caucasian neighborhoods than in African-American neighborhoods, even though the former live in more energy-efficient homes (low energy use intensity). This emissions paradox is explained by differences in building age, rates of home ownership, and floor area in these communities. In African-American neighborhoods, homes are older, home ownership is lower (reducing the likelihood of energy retrofits), and there is less floor area per person compared to Caucasian neighborhoods. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621004552

Identified Gaps and Barriers for Implementing Residential Building Energy Efficiency Strategies:
https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/summary-gaps-and-barriers-implementing-residential-building-energy