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It’s not just about money. People invest in home energy upgrades for a variety of reasons, including reconstruction after heavy storms. Our new report explores their motivations and unveils, based partly on a representative survey of nearly 2,000 homeowners, the best strategies for encouraging them to invest in energy efficiency.

In the energy efficiency world, programs that reduce energy use by targeting human behavior are relatively few, but proliferating quickly. In 2013, some US states claimed as much as 28% of their energy efficiency savings from behavior change programs. Like Pokémon Go characters in the wild, some behavior change programs are common, well-known, and seen everywhere. Others are rare and largely unknown.

The economic benefits of energy efficiency extend far beyond lowering energy bills for consumers. Efficiency also contributes to economic development and job creation. But who benefits most from these economic opportunities? At every step of the economic value chain produced by efficiency investments (see figure below), there are opportunities to target the economic and social benefits to those households, businesses, geographies, or sectors for whom they will make the biggest difference.

While the ACEEE 30^th Anniversary Policy and Analysis Conference included many excellent presentations on the two topics in its title, based on the scope of discussions, the conference might have been more accurately named the Policy, Analysis, and Communications Conference. It was clear that too often, the policy and analysis communities speak different languages.