At 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time today, Renewable Nation began accepting questions from homeowners through its in-app video submission tool and via social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Social media submissions from anyone interested in using this service should use the hashtag #DIYRenewableNation for posting questions. Submissions made through the app will be entered to win a $200 gift card for home projects.
Questions will be collected through to 21st June and answered by contractors and other experts on DIY home energy projects. The resulting Q&As will be curated and made available in the Renewable Nation app, on social media and via other online channels.
“We know two things about DIYers when it comes to solar and home-energy projects” said Renewable Nation Project Manager Scott Stapf. “First, they are not sure about who to trust to get the best information. Second, they look to video to get the answers. Our goal is to use the power of Renewable Nation to get the best curated answers to homeowners, and then to share the resulting Q-and-A dialogue with tens of thousands of other interested homeowners.”
Over half of American homeowners (56 percent) are do-it-yourselfers (DIYers). Statistics show that a little under half (39 percent) of DIYers choose to complete projects alone in order to save money. Yet in a seeming contradiction, 56 percent of DIYers will use professional contractors for a portion of, or the whole installation, as in a solar roof and many major energy-efficiency installations. It’s clear that most homeowners and renters wanting to go solar or integrate energy efficiency into their homes have questions, but don’t know who to ask.
Research shows that women are just as likely as men to be the DIYer in a home energy project. 32 percent of women surveyed are planning a home improvement project in the next year. Additionally, 35 percent of homeowners – and rising – are millennials or younger. They are the most likely of all homeowners to undertake major home-improvement projects.
A major goal of the Renewable Nation DIY Q&A is to make sure that all interested homeowners have a chance to pose the questions that may be holding them back - not to mention an equal shot at winning $200 towards their next project.
Virtually every rooftop in the US has already been mapped to assess its suitability for solar power generation. As a result, it’s known that about four out of five (79 percent) of US homes are suitable for solar. Surveys show that more than three out of five (62 percent) homeowners want solar on their rooftops. There is a total of 74 million single-family homes in the US, which means that about 58.4 million are ideal for solar rooftops. However, only 1.3 million home rooftop solar installations have been completed so far in the United States, which is just 2.2 percent of the total potential.
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