Industry overview
What is shaping energy
The energy transition brings rooftop solar, clean cooking, EV charging and efficient appliances to homes and businesses. Adoption depends on cost, trust, financing and after-sales support.
- Rooftop solar adoption depends on financing and installer trust
- Clean cooking programmes need sustained use, not just connections
- Businesses are setting their own transition targets
Client background
An energy efficiency agency, working in France, Germany, Italy & Spain. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- An energy efficiency agency
- Sector
- Energy
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Quantitative research, Consumer panel, Reporting & insights
Client challenge
Government incentives for heat pumps and insulation were available, but uptake was slower than targets. The agency wanted to understand homeowners’ attitudes and barriers across countries.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: public attitudes to heat pumps and home energy upgrades.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of homeowners.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 8 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 4,000 homeowners.
- homeowners4,000
Audiences we typically reach in energy
HouseholdsSmall businessesInstallers and channel partnersProgramme beneficiariesEnergy managers
Geographic coverage
Coverage: France, Germany, Italy & Spain. Markets: France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Online survey in four languages
- 3Segmentation
- 4Insight
We surveyed homeowners in French, German, Italian and Spanish about energy costs, awareness of incentives, concerns about installation and trust in installers, then segmented respondents by readiness and motivation. Questions also covered rented versus owned homes and building age, since these strongly affect upgrade options.
Quantitative researchConsumer panelReporting & insights
Sampling strategy
- homeowners
- 4,000
- Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
- Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
Data collection
- The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
Data quality & validation
- Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
- Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
- Review of open-ended answers
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Segmentation into groups the client can act on
Key findings
- Concerns about upfront cost, disruption and finding reliable installers dominated, while motivations differed by country.
- The installer directory became one of the most visited parts of the agency’s website.
Segmentation showed that one message would not fit four countries.
Recommendations
- The agency developed country-specific campaigns and a trusted installer directory.
- Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.
What we recommended, and the client put into practice
Business impact
- Applications for incentives rose in regions where the new campaigns ran.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: do households keep using clean cooking fuel?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.