This editor’s note highlights the key facts and market implications behind “Aiming to Improve Residential Performance, Promo”, with emphasis on sourcing, product fit, fabrication, logistics, or buyer impact.
From March 31, 2023, applications began to be accepted for the "Residential Energy Conservation 2023 Campaign," the largest-ever subsidy program in collaboration between three ministries. Particularly in the "Advanced Window Renovation Project," manufacturers selling windows and interior windows with high insulation performance that contribute to energy savings have successively announced product shortages and delivery delays, indicating a growing market interest in improving insulation performance.
Interview with LIXIL Housing Technology
We spoke with Kazunori Shibuya, Director of the Renovation Promotion Department, Sales Headquarters, LIXIL Housing Technology, about the current state of home insulation renovation and the corresponding products. Kazunori Shibuya joined Tostem Co., Ltd. (now LIXIL Corporation) in 1994. He served as a sales office manager and branch manager in the Kyushu region, focusing on housing equipment. Later, as a headquarters manager, he was in charge of condominium/real estate renovation and housing renovation businesses. Since April 2020, he has been the Director of the Renovation Promotion Department, Sales Headquarters, LIXIL Housing Technology, promoting performance improvement renovation projects.
Market Awareness Expanding Due to Decarbonization Momentum and National Policy
— Energy-saving measures in the building sector are accelerating towards a decarbonized society. As the nation leads the way towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the housing industry is being called upon to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by enhancing the energy-saving performance of both new and existing homes. On the other hand, a survey on "Home Insulation and Health" conducted by our company in September 2022 revealed that while about 80% of respondents answered "cold" to the question "Do you ever feel cold inside your home in winter?," only about 10% had implemented or were considering insulation renovation. The importance of insulation renovation for improving energy efficiency is not yet fully recognized by the market. The current situation is that about 90% of existing homes have low insulation performance and do not meet energy-saving standards. It should be more widely recognized that improving a home's insulation performance leads to reduced utility costs and CO2 emissions, prevention of heatstroke and heat shock, and enables a healthier life.
Support for Professional Users Entering the Renovation Business
— How will you support professional users who are about to engage in renovation projects?
“Until now, insulation renovation of openings (windows/doors) has not received much attention. However, with the growing momentum towards decarbonization and the clear impact on reducing health risks, coupled with the fact that the subsidy amount for the Advanced Window Renovation Project under the three-ministry ‘Residential Energy Conservation 2023 Campaign’ was the largest ever, market awareness is gradually expanding. At our company, we are seeing an increase in handling opening renovations, which we view as a result of latent needs among end-users becoming apparent. We have learned that window insulation is essential for advancing home energy savings and that there is demand. Therefore, we will promote insulation renovation of openings through comprehensive proposals combining various products and services.”
The Strengths of LIXIL’s Proposed Insulation Renovation
“What we are particularly promoting are ‘Performance Improvement Renovations’ under three plans: window insulation, single-room insulation, and whole-house insulation. For window insulation, for condominiums we recommend the interior window ‘Inplus,’ and for detached houses, besides ‘Inplus,’ we also recommend the replacement window (cover method) ‘Replus.’ Interior windows naturally offer expected insulation performance and also have benefits like improved soundproofing, but they have the aspect of requiring a two-step action to open. On the other hand, for older detached houses where existing windows are damaged or faulty, replacement windows that upgrade both appearance and function by installing new windows with high insulation performance become an option. We hope users will choose considering the respective advantages.”
“For cases requiring renovation room by room, we recommend ‘Coco Eco,’ a new-concept insulation eco-renovation that allows easy insulation renovation from the inside of the room. For those wishing to insulate the entire house, including living areas and bedrooms, there is the new product ‘Whole House Insulation Renovation,’ which allows renovation of an entire house from the exterior. Until now, it was common to demolish walls to a skeleton state before construction, but now it is possible to insulate an entire house while largely preserving the existing building materials and keeping costs down. Both Coco Eco and Whole House Insulation Renovation allow enhancing performance while utilizing existing homes, so they will likely become products demanded in the coming era. For professional users, we recognize that single-room and whole-house insulation are within their areas of expertise, so we want to provide them with more information.”
Adding Subsidy-Eligible Products to Expand Options and Improve Order Win Rates
— The Replus dedicated frame was updated in April 2023. What was the reason?
“The previous Replus dedicated frame had the issue of complicated site surveys and installation methods compared to universal frames. Therefore, professional users often chose and proposed the easier-to-install Inplus. The dedicated frame launched in April after the update retains the characteristic of the dedicated frame—a small indoor-side step allowing for a larger opening area—while becoming a product that can be installed in a short time like universal frames and with simplified site surveys. In August, we plan to launch a product with a changed frame shape as a dedicated frame, corresponding to A-grade. This allows choosing the optimal window that can also utilize subsidies according to the end-user’s budget and requests. We want professional users to not only propose interior windows but also have the option of replacement windows to increase their order win rates.”
Renovation Support for Professional Users
“Regarding support for professional users, in terms of openings, our company has a certification system called the ‘Window Meister System’ to produce window experts. It’s a system for developing experts who can propose construction methods suited to the end-user’s home and lifecycle, where they learn proposal techniques and know-how through training and implement them.”
“For the 11,000 companies affiliated with ‘LIXIL Renovation Net (VC),’ we provide the affiliated store-exclusive free app ‘L-Pocket.’ Renovation contractors, who are busy and need to remember knowledge for each manufacturer regarding water areas, interiors, interior finishes, and exteriors, can use L-Pocket, which aggregates education on the housing industry, national policies, product information, and on-site construction information. This allows them to selectively acquire only necessary information and aim for efficiency.”
“Since certified Window Meisters can also be confirmed on L-Pocket, we hope it can be used as a starting point when proposing to end-users. As materials and national policies increase, leading to information overload, we want to repeatedly update to make it easier for professional users to find what they need and expand the business of affiliated stores.”
