Environmental Leader

When asked what two home improvement projects consumers would consider if they were given $10,000, improvements related to energy efficiency were outweighed by kitchen/bathroom improvements and new flooring.

About 37 percent of consumers listed the kitchen/bathroom as the highest priority, and 33 percent looked to their flooring needs, according to the Energy Pulse 2009 study from the Shelton Group.

Just last year, replacing windows (35 percent) and replacing HVAC/furnace (27 percent) ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Consumers would be willing to see their energy costs rise 70 percent before feeling forced to make home energy efficiency improvements, the survey found. Suzanne Shelton, whose firm conducted the study, calls this the “apathy gap.”

“Here consumers are willing to waste more than $1,500 a year, or more than $4 a day, before they’ll take action,” Shelton said.