For Immediate Release May 17, 2005
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

DALLAS-FORT WORTH, Texas-When it comes to improving their air conditioning or central heating systems, more American homeowners want greater energy efficiency than any other improvement, according to a major study by Decision Analyst.

The American Home Comfort Study found that 46 percent of Americans would like to see their HVAC systems produce greater energy efficiency-the top improvement cited by respondents. Following energy efficiency, 39 percent cited "more even temperature in each room'' as a desired improvement, while 29 percent said "better air purification.''

Other improvements were "better temperature control,'' cited by 23 percent of respondents; "improved air flow,'' mentioned by 22 percent of those surveyed; "reduced noise level,'' cited by 21 percent of respondents; "better humidity control,'' listed by 19 percent; and "faster heating or cooling,'' cited by 17 percent.

"At a time when government energy regulations guarantee higher and more uniform HVAC product efficiency, contractors may overlook how important efficiency has become to their customers," said Garry Upton, Executive Vice President. "It is not the only feature and benefit they must share, but when left out of the conversation, it is definitely one of the key reasons a consumer might go elsewhere for their new system. To me, a contractor's failure to address energy efficiency is like a manufacturer dropping its advertising campaign at the very moment awareness is beginning to climb."

Methodology

A leading international marketing research and marketing consulting firm, Decision Analyst recently completed the "American Home Comfort Study,'' one of the largest studies of home heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) ever conducted from the perspective of the consumer. Conducted in July and August 2004, the study drew on a nationally representative sample of 19,322 homeowners recruited from Decision Analyst's online American Consumer Opinion® Panel. The study's margin of error is plus or minus 1 percent.

About Decision Analyst

Decision Analyst (www.decisionanalyst.com) is a leading marketing research and marketing consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization. The firm delivers competitive advantage to clients throughout the world in the HVAC, consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, retail, high technology, medical and pharmaceutical, utilities, and e-commerce industries. Decision Analyst operates the American Consumer Opinion® Online panel, one of the world's largest Internet consumer opinion panels, with more than 5 million participants.

For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1.800.ANALYSIS (262.5974)
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011

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