Survey data collected by researchers at the School of Public Policy indicate who may be more likely to support home electrification over natural gas use
By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - January 8, 2025
The building sector comprises over one-third of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Transitioning away from fossil fuel-based energy use in buildings will be essential to meet emissions reductions targets, yet, little is known about homeowner attitudes and preferences for home energy fuel sources, either electric or natural gas.
In new research published in Energy Research & Social Science, Shawn Hazboun, assistant professor of sociology, Greg Stelmach, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Public Policy, and Paige Martin Cox of E Source, a Colorado-based sustainable energy consulting firm, explore homeowner preferences of sustainable home electrification options.
“Currently, over half of American homes use natural gas for heating or cooking,” explained Hazboun. “But, more research is needed to understand public opinion of household electrification. Understanding homeowners' attitudes toward home energy sources—and toward electrification generally—is a vital component in the unfolding future of building decarbonization.”
Hazboun, Stelmach, and Cox, analyzed results from a survey circulated to more than 4,400 American homeowners with household electricity to better analyze the distribution of different energy sources currently used by homeowners, as well as favorability toward gas versus electric appliances, and attitudes toward home electrification.
First, survey respondents who had electric-only homes were geographically clustered in the U.S. southeast, whereby natural gas use had a less clear pattern, most likely due to a lack of natural gas infrastructure in more rural and remote areas. Furthermore, researchers found areas that are more likely to support the Biden administration's building electrification efforts, e.g. West Coast, are also among the places that are the most reliant on natural gas in the home, whereas rural areas and the south, which already have a higher proportion of electric only homes, are more easily positioned to upgrade to efficient heat pumps and other electrification technologies.
Second, respondents, on average, indicated more support for natural gas than electricity only, and respondents indicated they felt gas is superior for two distinct dimensions, focusing on 1) comfort and efficiency and 2) environment and safety. Additionally, Hazboun, Stelmach, and Cox, found that conservative political ideology was a significant predictor of favorability toward natural gas, as well as what energy sources are currently used in the home, hinting towards natural gas being a more desirable energy source.
Third, a further analysis of respondent data showed that participants who are older, female, white, and politically conservative were less favorable toward the idea of home electrification, while those living in a single-family home, had children living with them, lived in an urban area, and who used decarbonizing home energy technologies, such as rooftop solar, induction cooktops, and heat pumps, were more favorable toward home electrification. These findings, taken together, suggest that politically liberal, urban families are a likely demographic that will take advantage of the Biden administration Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives for decarbonizing home upgrades.
“Overall,” explained Hazboun, “our survey research suggests that both political ideology and current use of natural gas in the home are relevant indicators. However, other factors, such as affordability, perceived safety and efficacy of various fuel sources, and age, are likely to be significant as well.”
Implications of this work include finding ways to target electrification incentives, such as those included in the IRA, towards those most likely to adopt them, including political liberals and those residing in urban areas. Additionally, there is work to be done in terms of messaging the safety and many other benefits of electrification technologies to the public.
“Who will ‘go electric’? American homeowners' perceptions of home energy sources and home electrification” builds upon previous research by Hazboun on electrification policy. A 2023 paper published in Case Studies in the Environment examined the successes and challenges of a building electrification policy (“gas ban”) passed in the city of Bellingham, Washington, in early 2022.