Rural and small-town America has a proud and independent culture all its own. It also has unique energy needs and challenges.
If we use the US Department of Agriculture definition of a rural or ‘non-metropolitan’ community as one with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, then small towns and rural countryside make up 72 percent of the land area in the United States—but just 14 percent of the total population. Yet interestingly, rural communities account for 20 percent of US energy consumption.
Given that people spend about 90 percent of their time inside buildings, it’s not surprising that the indoor environment can have a substantial impact on health.
While this isn’t an issue that people often consider, it poses real problems. Of all building stock in the United States, 53 percent is more than 35 years old – and some of that contains hazardous construction materials like asbestos and lead. In fact, around 4 million US homes are exposing children to dangerously high levels of lead.
In the United States today, nearly 28 percent of families live on incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line. And although they may be the least able to bear it, low-income families face disproportionately higher energy burdens than wealthier households. They spend a far larger percentage of their total household income on paying utility bills than the average U.S. household. In fact, a recent report found that, for families living in large cities, the median low-income household’s energy burden was more than three times as high as that of non-low-income households. This provides the context for why improving the efficiency for low-income households is so important.
Consumer preferences have been changing, and now more than ever it appears that Americans are driving less, staying home more – and saving energy. This trend has had some major impacts, but one of the biggest is its effect on national energy usage.
Are your customers holding back on participating in home utility reporting? One of the biggest barriers to engagement is misunderstanding, so be sure you're all on the same page. Your customers probably have a laundry list of questions, but they don't know where to begin. Be prepared for any and every question they might have, starting with the basics.
