Australians want to reduce energy use

Original CSIRO Media Release

Download the Report: Attitudes to household energy use (1.4MB)

Australians want climate change solutions at home
Reference: 08/39
A survey of more than 2000 households in Queensland, Victoria, NSW and South Australia has revealed that more than 75 per cent of Australians want to reduce energy consumption in the home and implement a rapid response to climate change.
10 March 2008

CSIRO's Energy Transformed Flagship has released a report looking at attitudes to household electricity consumption. The report considers people's willingness to accept alternative approaches to reducing domestic energy.

CSIRO social scientist Dr John Gardner says the survey showed most Australians would like to find ways to curb electricity use in the home.

"The majority of people surveyed - women in particular - indicated a strong desire to try to reduce the amount of electricity they are currently using in their home," he says.

"People want to reduce their household emissions as well as save on the cost of their energy bills."

The report showed that younger, more educated, higher income householders were willing to integrate technology into their home to manage their own household energy requirements.

Introducing energy-saving technology like ‘energy managers' - devices which automatically control power usage by household appliances, such as pool pumps and air conditioners - was seen as an effective tool to help people reduce the electricity they consume.

"Electric hot water systems are already automatically controlled in the majority of Australian homes," Dr Gardner says.
"People want to reduce their household emissions as well as save on the cost of their energy bills."
Dr John Gardner

"Having that sort of control extended to a range of other domestic appliances could help householders minimise their energy use more easily."

The report also found that Australians interested in generating their own household electricity prefer renewable energy sources, particularly favouring solar and wind.

National Research Flagships
CSIRO initiated the National Research Flagships to provide science-based solutions in response to Australia's major research challenges and opportunities. The nine Flagships form multidisciplinary teams with industry and the research community to deliver impact and benefits for Australia.

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