Energy Efficiency Trends is a quarterly report focused on the UK market, providing insight into non-residential energy efficiency.
This edition takes the temperature of consumer and supplier market activity in the fourth and final quarter of 2015 (October-December). In headline, the key trends reported in Q3 have largely continued into Q4 – the ‘tale of two sectors’ analogy used last time is sustained here.
On the supplier side, the general trend towards declining market confidence continues in response to reported declines in customer orders. Perhaps as a consequence, suppliers also reported almost universally negative views of government action for the sector.
This downbeat view was not reflected on the consumer side however. Rather – and in a substantially similar vein to Q3’s reported activity – consumers were far more positive and progressive in their overall outlook. Some key findings include; eight out of 10 consumers reported undertaking projects in Q4; lighting-based technologies continue to dominate investment choice list; solar saw a jump in uptake this time (a potential negative for efficiency providers); at least 17 distinct organisational/property types benefited from energy-saving investment; spending looked to be on the increase; and perhaps most progressively, there were signs of increasing awareness (and deployment) of robust performance measurement to help ensure that these investments do return the financial savings that were expected.
Looking ahead – if these trends continue – it may be that suppliers will increasingly need to ‘up their game’ in order to meet rising customer expectations and to stand out in an increasingly competitive market place.
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