Increasing the use of energy efficient HVAC equipment in homes through voluntary and profitable pollution prevention programs.

There are many hurdles in the road to widespread adoption of energy-efficient heating and cooling (HVAC) equipment in homes. These hurdles include increased first cost, lack of sufficient financing, historic lack of aggressive marketing by HVAC equipment dealers, and lack of consumer awareness. This paper reports on the design and progress of the ENERGY STAR market-based approach to overcome these hurdles to encourage the widespread manufacture and purchase of highly efficient heating and cooling equipment. The paper will focus on several key marketing aspects of the ENERGY STAR HVAC program: program design and marketing methods; manufacturer, utility, financial institution and other key groups' participation in the program; findings on the most important factors in promoting increased market penetration of highly efficient products; and the current status of the program are discussed.