Most of the difficulties that you will face in a rebate program we saw in a rebate program for smart timers that got a 3 month boost at the end of 2005. A wealthy neighborhood over-looking the Pacific was targeted with mailings in their water bills for 2 months and finally with doorknob hangers. The 3 month program was urging homeowners to participate in a program which included free installation and free smart timers for anybody that called.

Andrew Davis took the phone orders from more than 140 homeowners in this special program. I learned the following facts. As more calls come in, we expect that the same facts will prevail.

• Most of these people were very busy. Some were retired and busy.
  Some called after the first and second mailings. All these people remembered getting the mailings with their water bills.
• A few homeowners wanted to know what the trick was. They were suspicious of the first mailings. It was the doorknob hanger in addition to the mailings that convinced them to call.
• More homeowners did not call because they were sure that the 500 controllers would be gone be could call. In their eyes, the deal was too good to last. Again, it was the doorknob hanger that convinced them to interrupt their busy lives and call.
• All these homeowners cared about the environment and stopping urban runoff to clean their beach. A gas station attendant called the polluted be "a stinking mess." Yet, none of these homeowners seemed to know about the rebate program that had been running for over a year. That program gave them a $20 per valve rebate which often meant that they got a free timer.
• Many of these homeowners were already taking actions to save water and stop runoff. For example, some of them changed the timers manually when their lawns became too wet. More of them turned off their sprinkler timers when it rained. Even these people were unaware of the $20/valve rebate program that had been running for over year.
• When I asked whether they had runoff, some said, "a little. But, my neighbor up the street..." I joked with the administrator of the program that maybe he should gather the phone numbers that we collected and call those people and tell them that "it is not you that we want. It is your neighbors."

My conclusions

Money is NOT the primary obstacle to retrofit programs for homeowners. These people can afford to buy anything that they want for their gardens. Discussions of $20 or $40 per valve, or paying only half the cost of the controller miss the main obstacle. They did not even know about rebate program that had been available to them for over a year and that would have given many of them a free smart timer.

• This program of "free installation and free smart timers" had difficulties even with people who love their gardens and care about the environment.
• The main problem in retrofits programs is getting homeowners to PAUSE and ACT. Even retired people who love their garden are too flooded with information to easily hear the messages in their water bills. This flood of information makes them inert, and this inertia is in people who care.

There is tremendous inertia in people and ANY obstacle will divert them. While I have said the money is NOT the MAIN obstacle, I think that programs that limit the rebate to 1/2 the cost of the controller are making a mistake.

• I know that some water districts are trying to get the homeowners to "buy-in" into water conservation. But, compelling homeowners to share the cost, no matter how low in cost, gives all homeowners, especially the great majorities who do not care or are too busy, an excuse to ask, "Why should I spend money when my existing timer is working? Maybe when it goes bad."
• I think that a more valuable "buy-in" of homeowners is their PAUSING TO ACT. Homeowners CHANGING their watering habits and techniques is a more valuable "buy-in" than compelling them to pay half the cost of the controller. Their time is more precious to you than 1/2 the cost of the controller.
• Also, paying 1/2 does NOT send a clear water pricing message to either homeowners or manufacturers. Since the price of ET controllers for 8 valves can range from $138 to $648, you maybe paying the homeowner between $69 and $324 dollars for comparable water savings. Paying 1/2 the cost of the controller leaves you paying 5 times the cost for the same water savings. The manufacturers set the prices for their controllers and you pay half of THEIR price.

A clearer water pricing message to manufacturers and homeowners is "per home or per valve" rebates based on YOUR cost for NEW water. This price is the real value of ET controllers to you. Send the strongest message to manufacturers to meet YOUR water pricing objectives.