January 16, 2026
Thermostat Wars: Commenters On Fire
Left in the cold: Study finds most renters shut out of energy-saving upgrades
Renters shiver, landlords shrug, and the comments explode
TLDR: Study says renters can’t get serious energy upgrades because landlords have no incentive to invest, leaving tenants cold and bills high. Comments erupted into a brawl: blame landlords’ market power, demand regulation, or admit most renters won’t gut a rental—while everyone agrees plastic window wrap isn’t cutting it.
A new Binghamton University study says renters—about a third of Americans—are blocked from the big energy upgrades that actually warm homes and slash bills. Why? The classic “split incentive”: tenants pay the utilities; landlords own the walls. Cue the comments section, which went full furnace. One camp torched landlords for pocketing profits while tenants freeze, with users pointing out that tax credits are tiny—"only a third of materials” and capped low—so owners won’t budge. Another camp shrugged: even if renters could, who wants to rip out walls and swap appliances in a place you don’t own? As one put it, that level of renovation is pricey and painful. Then came the ideological heatwave: free-market fans argued landlords have too much power and don’t compete on comfort, so why would they bother insulating? Meanwhile, others pressed for rules that make upgrades mandatory to protect renters’ wallets and health. The report highlights health fallout—more asthma, worse living conditions—while commenters riffed on renters’ “plastic wrap on windows” era and the infamous “landlord thermostat at 62.” The side drama? A mini spat over who owns what, with a pedantic “I purchased” correction blowing up like a drafty window. Study linked in Energy Research & Social Science.
Key Points
- •Renters constitute about one-third of the U.S. population but largely cannot implement energy-efficiency upgrades in their units.
- •Over 90% of U.S. renters pay at least part of their energy bills; about three-quarters pay the full cost, intensifying the split incentive with landlords.
- •Researchers interviewed 59 municipal and county sustainability leaders to assess local policies targeting rental energy efficiency.
- •Programs to improve rental efficiency exist but typically reach only a small portion of units due to design limits and eligibility constraints.
- •Barriers include landlord reluctance, poor rental housing stock, renter hesitancy, and program design focusing on public or low-income housing.