U.S. adults who plan to vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney this year are more likely to have made what can be described as ‘green’ home improvements in the past five years than adults who support President Barack Obama, according to a recent national survey.
The survey, commissioned by home solar company Sunrun and conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 64% of Romney voters have made green home improvements in the past five years, compared to 58% of Obama voters.
Environmental concerns were not highest on either side's list of the motivating factors for making changes to their homes or their habits, as both groups identified ‘saving money’ as their primary motivating factor for having made green changes, or for doing so in the future.
‘This data shows us that a new shade of green is emerging, and it's not dominated by any particular side of the political spectrum,’ says Sunrun President and co-Founder Lynn Jurich. ‘Americans are motivated by savings, and now there are environmental choices that are also the smartest choices for your bank account.’
Americans showed nearly twice as high a motivation to save money by implementing energy-efficient and otherwise green home and lifestyle changes (85%) than the least-common mentioned motivation for going green – concern for the planet (44%).
While only 3% of Romney voters and 2% of Obama voters have installed solar-power systems in the past five years, 27% of U.S. adults said they are interested in installing a solar power system in the future, SunRun adds. A total of 85% of respondents said saving money was – or would be – an important factor for making these types of changes.
