For manufacturers and brands of sustainable installation products, knowing the role sustainability plays in electrical installation projects in the areas they operate in is essential. In the seven countries in which we constantly monitor electrical installation companies, the share of projects of electrical installers in which sustainability plays a role ranges from 26% in Germany up to 50% in the Netherlands. This can be any role, however, and sustainability is a broad term.
Knowing where sustainability plays a role the most is all good and well, but to use that information effectively, more detail is needed. It would be valuable to know, for instance, what products are used the most when sustainability plays a role in installation projects. That is what we asked electrical installers for the Q1 2022 report of USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Electrical Installation Monitor, which focuses on sustainability in the electrical installation market.
The age-old trend of electrification continues
When looking at the products that are chosen to be used in installation projects in which clients asked for sustainable solutions, there is one clear winner. In 92% of such projects, LED lighting is used. In a way this is not surprising, as electric lighting has been connected with aspects of sustainability since its invention.
The moment commercial electric lightbulbs entered the market in the nineteenth century, the quest for longer-lasting lightbulbs started. At the end of the last century we have seen the development and impact of energy-saving lightbulbs. Nowadays, the even more energy-efficient and longer-lasting LED lighting leads the way in the quest for sustainability, at least according to the electrical installers.
The transition from gas or candle light to electrical lighting is one of the earliest examples of the electrification trend. The above graph also lists more modern examples of the continuing transition to electric power that started with the electric lightbulb in the nineteenth century. The chargers for electric vehicles are the most obvious example, representing the transition from fossil-fuel-powered mobility to electric mobility.
From saving to producing energy
Like many products in the above list, LED lighting contributes to sustainability mainly by saving energy. Very interesting is that the second most used product in sustainability projects mentioned by installers are photovoltaics. Saving energy by using more energy-efficient lighting has been done for some time, but these PV products help clients become energy producers, which is a more recent development.
The use of PV products has grown rapidly over the past years and as is apparent in the above, they are now the second most used product group for sustainability projects. In Spain, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, they are even used as commonly as LED lighting in projects in which sustainability plays a role.
This PV example shows that there can be significant local differences in the demand for and adoption rate of sustainable solutions. For manufacturers and brands of electrical installation products who want the full overview of electrical installers’ experience with and ideas about sustainability, as well as which products they use the most in seven European countries, the Q1 2022 report of USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Electrical Installation Monitor is now available.
