Until very recently, saving energy has not been a concern of those involved in any aspects of building, buying, and renting homes. The trend toward more energy intensive features in new homes described earlier in this chapter shows that energy saving was not of much concern even by 1973.

Once the structure is built, energy saving modifications are expensive and may not pay in terms of fuel bill savings. The experience in Michigan suggests that adding insulation to homes with attics in colder areas is economical within a year or two. Calculations by the WCMS show that the addition of storm windows does save energy, but the homeowner does not recover the cost of purchase and installation for several years, using the predominant heating fuel—natural gas. Of the five cities for which calculations were made, the storm window purchase and installation costs were recovered in fuel savings first in Boston and then only after seven years. The long cost recovery period is a problem in view of the high mobility of American families.

Turning off 25 million furnace pilot lights in the summer can mean considerable national energy savings, and this is important since natural gas is currently in short supply. At present, homeowners may be deterred from doing so by lack of knowledge about the energy savings possible, about how to do it, and by fees charged for this service.

Energy use in appliances is another area for energy conservation, even though reduced appliance use cannot save as much as reductions in space and water heating. At the moment, little information is available to the consumer to guide efficient and economical purchase. Even when such information is available, consumers are still restricted to what is for sale in the stores, by the cost of big items, and the stock of appliances already in the homes they move into.