Unless it raises the resale value of the home reliably, long-term payback is of little motivational value without job security or significant money in reserve.

Unless it raises the resale value of the home reliably, long-term payback is of little motivational value without job security or significant money in reserve. That's one of the uncomfortable microeconomic truths driving short-term decision making in things like cooling, solar power, and battery systems. Why would someone take out a loan or tie up a large portion of their liquid capital to see a ten-year payback on a house they might be forced to sell next month? With 2008 not being so long ago, neither job security nor resale value are that promising. We're still rebuilding consumer confidence after nine years. The economic recovery in the US is largely in a handful of major metropolitan areas pulling up the averages, with large swathes of the country still struggling. This needs to improve or some government incentive program like you mention must take it into account if we're going to sell capital-intensive home upgrades.