The heat wave simmering in across the American West is taking a devastating toll: temperature records have been broken, flights have been grounded, people have been hospitalized, and a few deaths have even been attributed to the weather.


So what is to be done? 


One answer: fix our buildings so that people can live in them during a heat wave without risking hospitalization or death.  


Home Performance Helps in a Heat Wave


As those of us in the industry know, improving the energy efficiency of our buildings through upgrades like air sealing, duct sealing and insulation goes well beyond reduced heating costs in the winter. It also helps building occupants stay comfortable in the summer, and can even help prevent possible safety issues like heat exhaustion resulting from extreme high temperatures.


Among the benefits of an energy efficient, high performance home in a heat wave:


  • A high performance home is more comfortable
  • A high performance home has lower cooling bills
  • A high performance home stays cooler longer, increasing comfort during power outages
  • A high performance home uses less energy, reducing the risk of brown-outs caused by peak energy consumption


How to Communicate the Importance of Home Performance in a Heat Wave


Again, we already know this stuff. So how do we convey this information to homeowners when they need it? 


Web Copy


This is your first step. If somebody that's already on your website can't figure out what your services have to do with staying comfortable and safe during an extreme heat wave, nobody can. Depending on your location and the season, consider putting heat-related language front and center on your site. At the very least, write a blog post or a service page about keeping cool and healthy during times of extremely hot weather.


Newsletters


Most of the people signed up for your newsletter are likely people that live in your area. They're experiencing the same heat you are, and it's weighing heavy on their mind. In all the emails that come into their mail box, the one that clearly explains how they can cost-effectively improve the comfort of their home - even during an extreme heat wave - is likely to get some attention. Use your newsletter to drive traffic to a landing page on your website where visitors can fill out a contact form and sign up for an energy audit. 


Pay-Per-Click Campaigns


A pay-per-click advertising campaign is a good way to go above and beyond what your competiton are likely doing, and to put your message in front of a lot more people who may not otherwise get to your website. But doing an effective PPC campaign is all about paying attention to the details: go for search terms that are likely to convert, and stick to your core messages. People searching for "heat wave" are probably looking for news or information rather than services. People searching for "air conditioning repair tucson" or "home insulation san diego," on the other hand, are probably homeowners looking for ways to keep their home cool, and as such are likely customers that you may be able to convert to the home performance approach.


Selling Building Resilience


In many ways, the argument for home performance during a heat wave resembles the argument for home performance during natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tornadoes: if you're likely to lose power for an extended period of time, it's preferable to live in a house that can be kept comfortable for a long period of time without a source of power. Energy efficient homes are much better in this regard than traditional (leaky) homes. Everything we can do to disseminate this message is good for us, good for the industry, and good for homeowners looking to stay comfortable and safe in times of trouble.