Approximately 60% of people answered "don't know" about ZEH. The importance of "energy-saving performance" realized after building a house.
A survey conducted by NEXER Co., Ltd. and Nagaden House revealed that approximately 60% of homeowners responded "don't know" about ZEH (Net Zero Energy House). Furthermore, 66.3% of people did not prioritize energy-saving performance when purchasing or building a house, indicating that its importance is often realized only after moving in.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 14:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 16:25 (121h 53m after Collected)
## Press Release Information
Title: Approximately 60% of people answered "don't know" about ZEH. The importance of "energy-saving performance" realized after building a house.
Subtitle:
Company Name:
Industry:
Body (first 8000 characters):
■ Awareness Survey on "Residential Energy-Saving Performance and ZEH" Conducted on 400 Homeowners
In recent years, interest in residential energy-saving performance and ZEH (Net Zero Energy House) has been growing. With soaring utility costs and increasing awareness of climate change, there is an accelerating movement to review the energy efficiency of homes.
However, to what extent do actual homeowners understand and prioritize energy-saving performance?
Therefore, in collaboration with Nagaden House, we conducted a survey on "Residential Energy-Saving Performance and ZEH" targeting 400 men and women nationwide who responded "currently live in a detached house" in a preliminary survey.
*When quoting the content of this press release, please follow the instructions below:
・Please state that the source is "a survey by NEXER Co., Ltd. and Nagaden House."
・Please include a link to Nagaden House (https://www.nagadenhouse.com/).
"Survey on Residential Energy-Saving Performance and ZEH" Overview
Survey method: Internet questionnaire
Survey period: February 18 - February 27, 2026
Target respondents: Men and women nationwide who responded "currently live in a detached house" in a preliminary survey
Valid responses: 400 samples
Questions:
Question 1: Do you know the term ZEH (Zero Energy House)?
Question 2: To what extent did you prioritize the energy-saving performance of your home (insulation, airtightness, solar power generation, etc.) when purchasing or building it?
Question 3: Please tell us the reason.
Question 4: Do you think the priority of "energy-saving performance" will increase for future home purchases or rebuilding?
Question 5: Please tell us the reason.
*As a general rule, figures are rounded to the second decimal place, so the total may not be 100%.
■ 59.5% answered "don't know" about ZEH
First, we investigated the recognition of the term ZEH (Zero Energy House).
ZEH is a house that aims to achieve net-zero or less annual primary energy consumption by combining improved insulation performance, high-efficiency equipment, and solar power generation.
As a result, 59.5% of respondents answered "don't know," which was the most common response, accounting for approximately 60%. "Only a vague idea" was 22.0%, "understand the general meaning" was 14.0%, and only 4.5% answered "understand the mechanism and conditions."
This means that less than 20% of the total population understands the content of ZEH to a certain extent or more. This indicates that specialized terms and systems related to energy-efficient homes are still not widely understood, even among homeowners.
■ 66.3% answered "did not prioritize" energy-saving performance
Next, we asked to what extent they prioritized energy-saving performance when purchasing or building a house.
As a result, 35.5% answered "did not prioritize much," and 30.8% answered "did not prioritize at all," totaling 66.3% of people who did not prioritize energy-saving performance. On the other hand, "somewhat prioritized" was 26.5%, and "highly prioritized" was only 7.3%.
We asked for reasons for "prioritizing" and "not prioritizing," and some are introduced below.
Those who answered "prioritized":
・Because I live in a cold region. (60s, male)
・Insulation is greatly related to energy saving and comfort. (70s, male)
・It's good for the environment and reduces electricity bills. (50s, female)
・I wanted to reduce utility costs. (30s, male)
・Because air conditioning works better on cold or hot days, which leads to energy saving. (40s, female)
Those who answered "did not prioritize":
・There were many other things to prioritize, such as the layout. (40s, female)
・I prioritized earthquake resistance. (50s, female)
・Since it has been more than 20 years since construction, indicators such as energy saving and insulation were not as important then as they are now. (60s, male)
・I considered it, but decided it was not cost-effective. (70s, male)
・At the time of construction, people were not even aware of such points. (40s, male)
Title: Approximately 60% of people answered "don't know" about ZEH. The importance of "energy-saving performance" realized after building a house.
Subtitle:
Company Name:
Industry:
Body (first 8000 characters):
■ Awareness Survey on "Residential Energy-Saving Performance and ZEH" Conducted on 400 Homeowners
In recent years, interest in residential energy-saving performance and ZEH (Net Zero Energy House) has been growing. With soaring utility costs and increasing awareness of climate change, there is an accelerating movement to review the energy efficiency of homes.
However, to what extent do actual homeowners understand and prioritize energy-saving performance?
Therefore, in collaboration with Nagaden House, we conducted a survey on "Residential Energy-Saving Performance and ZEH" targeting 400 men and women nationwide who responded "currently live in a detached house" in a preliminary survey.
*When quoting the content of this press release, please follow the instructions below:
・Please state that the source is "a survey by NEXER Co., Ltd. and Nagaden House."
・Please include a link to Nagaden House (https://www.nagadenhouse.com/).
"Survey on Residential Energy-Saving Performance and ZEH" Overview
Survey method: Internet questionnaire
Survey period: February 18 - February 27, 2026
Target respondents: Men and women nationwide who responded "currently live in a detached house" in a preliminary survey
Valid responses: 400 samples
Questions:
Question 1: Do you know the term ZEH (Zero Energy House)?
Question 2: To what extent did you prioritize the energy-saving performance of your home (insulation, airtightness, solar power generation, etc.) when purchasing or building it?
Question 3: Please tell us the reason.
Question 4: Do you think the priority of "energy-saving performance" will increase for future home purchases or rebuilding?
Question 5: Please tell us the reason.
*As a general rule, figures are rounded to the second decimal place, so the total may not be 100%.
■ 59.5% answered "don't know" about ZEH
First, we investigated the recognition of the term ZEH (Zero Energy House).
ZEH is a house that aims to achieve net-zero or less annual primary energy consumption by combining improved insulation performance, high-efficiency equipment, and solar power generation.
As a result, 59.5% of respondents answered "don't know," which was the most common response, accounting for approximately 60%. "Only a vague idea" was 22.0%, "understand the general meaning" was 14.0%, and only 4.5% answered "understand the mechanism and conditions."
This means that less than 20% of the total population understands the content of ZEH to a certain extent or more. This indicates that specialized terms and systems related to energy-efficient homes are still not widely understood, even among homeowners.
■ 66.3% answered "did not prioritize" energy-saving performance
Next, we asked to what extent they prioritized energy-saving performance when purchasing or building a house.
As a result, 35.5% answered "did not prioritize much," and 30.8% answered "did not prioritize at all," totaling 66.3% of people who did not prioritize energy-saving performance. On the other hand, "somewhat prioritized" was 26.5%, and "highly prioritized" was only 7.3%.
We asked for reasons for "prioritizing" and "not prioritizing," and some are introduced below.
Those who answered "prioritized":
・Because I live in a cold region. (60s, male)
・Insulation is greatly related to energy saving and comfort. (70s, male)
・It's good for the environment and reduces electricity bills. (50s, female)
・I wanted to reduce utility costs. (30s, male)
・Because air conditioning works better on cold or hot days, which leads to energy saving. (40s, female)
Those who answered "did not prioritize":
・There were many other things to prioritize, such as the layout. (40s, female)
・I prioritized earthquake resistance. (50s, female)
・Since it has been more than 20 years since construction, indicators such as energy saving and insulation were not as important then as they are now. (60s, male)
・I considered it, but decided it was not cost-effective. (70s, male)
・At the time of construction, people were not even aware of such points. (40s, male)