Market Research

At ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine, we constantly analyze our market and our readers. With substantial research investments, this part of our mission is vital to understanding the industry and providing our readers and industry partners with the most complete, comprehensive and accurate electrical construction media available.

Watch the 2018 Profile Highlights Video

Profile of the Electrical Contractor

2018 Profile of the Electrical Contractor: Tools and Equipment

This breakout study focuses on the EC's use, purchase and lease of tools and equipment.

2018 Profile of the Electrical Contractor: Testers, Meters Software and More

This breakout study focuses on the EC's use, purchase, rental, and lease of testers, meters, software and more.

2018 Profile of the Electrical Contractor: Vehicles

This breakout study focuses on the EC's ownership, purchase and lease of vehicles.

2018 Profile of the Electrical Contractor: Role in DB and DA

This breakout study focuses on the EC's role in design/build and design/assist.

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Monthly Subscriber Research Panel

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR's monthly subscriber research panel asks print magazine and newsletter subscribers questions about the industry, the magazine, its website and newsletter, and the products and services that contractors use. As an incentive, respondents are entered into a monthly drawing for a $200 Amazon e-gift card. If you request to join, our research analysts will contact you within the next week by email.

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Baxter Readership Studies

Baxter Research Center studies are conducted via e-mail survey four issues per year gauging advertising and editorial success. This research measures the effectiveness of an advertisement's or editorial's ability to attract and retain the reader's attention in its respective issue. Click below to view our recent study results.

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Your Business

Jan 2020

Consumer Demand for Home-Based Smart Energy Tech Increases

William Atkinson

According to the latest research report from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), “2020 State of the Consumer,” consumer interest in residential energy efficiency and energy saving technologies is increasing...

Your Business

Jan 2020

AGC Urges Congress To Help Increase Supply of Skilled Workers

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

With the U.S. construction labor market as tight as ever, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is calling on the Trump Administration and Congress to step up efforts to increase the supply of qualified workers...

Your Business

Jan 2020

2020 Construction Outlook: 2020 Vision Required

Jeff Gavin

“Blurry” and “static” are good descriptors for 2019, when economic challenges were boisterously discussed. Trade tensions, Mother Nature’s wrath and turbulent politics tested growth and will continue to hover over the longest...

Your Business

Dec 2019

NREL Looks at Future of Utilities

William Atkinson

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently released its “2019 Standard Scenario Report: A U.S. Electricity Sector Outlook.” The Report is published annually to inform energy system...

Your Business

Dec 2019

Onshore Wind Reaches Milestone

William Atkinson

According to the December 2019 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. onshore wind capacity now exceeds 100 gigawatts. EIA noted that, “Cumulative U.S. installed onshore wind capacity exceeded 100...

Your Business

Dec 2019

Construction Starts Rose 37% from October to November

William Atkinson

Despite predictions by industry experts for weakening construction starts in late 2019 and into 2020, construction starts are actually continuing to increase. According to the latest report from Dodge Data & Analytics...

Residential

Dec 2019

More Homeowners Considering Residential Solar Panels

Holly Sauer

According to a Dec. 17 report from the Pew Research Center, an increasing number of U.S. homeowners are contemplating the installation of residential solar panels. The report is based on a survey conducted in October of over...

Lighting

Dec 2019

The Replacements

Chuck Ross

There’s no doubt that LED-based lighting has rapidly become the favored option for both consumers and commercial building owners. But many consumers and business owners (and perhaps even a few electrical contractors) remain...

Your Business

Nov 2019

Battery Prices Fall as Electrification Grows

Rick Laezman

A recent report documents a significant drop in the price of batteries just as electric vehicles are taking off in new directions. The market research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) released its “2019 Battery Price...

Dec 2019

Preparing for a New Year

Larry Beltramo

Another year has come to a close. And with it, I invite you to reflect on how our industry has changed over the past year. Thanks to our dedicated members and staff, NECA has the flexibility to adapt to the evolving industry...

Your Business

Nov 2019

Construction Starts Continue to Strengthen

William Atkinson

2018 was strong for construction starts. Although there was talk of slowing down in the latter half of 2019, that did not happen. In fact, the last half of 2019 has seen even stronger growth than the first. The early months...

Integrated Systems

Nov 2019

The Global Fire Protection Market is Growing

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

As more governments around the world adopt international fire protection standards, sales of fire protection systems are increasing dramatically, according to the “Fire Protection System Market Research Report--Global...