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Abstract
This study utilises data from the ABS 2012 Household Energy Consumption Survey to investigate the
factors that influence household energy efficiency behaviours. Logistic regressions are applied to
analyse household energy efficiency modification actions and intentions. Estimation results reveal
the important determining factors including household income, family composition, age of reference
person, home ownership, dwelling type and age and geographical location. Also important are the
psychological factors such as household energy efficiency attitudes, perceived behavioural control
and past investment experiences. On the other hand, the reference persons gender and occupation,
dwelling size and current energy efficiency characteristics are not verified in this analysis to
significantly impact on household modification intentions or actions. The paper highlights the
important contributions to the current literature from the available dataset and its analysis as well
1
The views in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian
Bureau of Statistics. Responsibility for any errors or omissions remains solely with the authors. The authors
would like to thank Ruel Abello and Stephanie Cornes for their comments on the first draft of the paper, Dean
Adams and Philip Elliott for their help during the research process. For correspondence, please contact
Summer Wang on summer.wang@abs.gov.au.
1
I. Introduction
The current drive towards reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions has led to a
focus on household energy efficiency and conservation behaviours. These refer to actions or
intentions to make modifications to the dwelling to conserve energy, such as replacing hot water
systems or installing insulation, or replacing any heaters, coolers or any major whitegoods to more
energy efficient models. For energy efficiency measures to be adopted, it is vital that the motivations
behind household actions are well understood (Christie et al., 2011). Thus, in this paper, we seek to
empirically explore the relationship between household energy efficiency behaviours, household
modifications and the factors that influence them, using data from the ABS 2012 Household Energy
The HECS provides detailed information on a range of energy efficiency modification types. Table 1
below provides the percentage of the households who made energy efficient improvements during
the period from April 2012 to March 2013 by the intention indicated in the March 2012 survey.
Renter households
Replaced heater, cooler or major whitegoods *16 *14
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50 percent and should be used with caution.
** estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use.
(a) Includes households with a life tenure or rent/ buy tenure arrangement.
na not applicable
Source: Household Energy Consumption Survey, Australia: Summary of results, (ABS, 2013), (Cat. no. 4670.0)
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The paper is organised as follows. Section 2 presents a review of the empirical studies of the
adopted for this analysis is explained. Section 4 discusses the data source and variables used for this
analysis. Section 5 presents the empirical models and the estimation results. Section 6 summarises
the key findings, implications and the potential limitations of this paper.
The literature indicates that residential energy conservation investment decisions depend on a
variety of factors (e.g. Stern and Oskamp, 1987; McKenzie-Mohr et al., 1995; Hansla et al., 2008).
These can be grouped into three main factors: the socio-demographic, psychological and the
structural factors (e.g., Olsen, 1981; Steg, 2008; Stern, 1992; Kang et al., 2012; Black et al., 1985;
DeWaters and Powers, 2011; Dias et al., 2004). Although these factors have received varying levels
of attention in the literature, few, if any, have addressed household energy-efficiency behaviour in
a. Socio-demographic factors
The research to date indicates that household energy efficiency behaviours appear to be mainly
related to household socio-demographic variables, such as the ones described below. These shape
the opportunities and constraints for the adoptions of energy-efficiency measures (Dillman et al.,
1983; Walsh, 1989; Long, 1993; Scott, 1997; Poortinga et al., 2003; Druckman and Jackson, 2008;
i. Income level
A vast amount of literature shows that household income level is positively related to energy
efficiency investments (Kasulis et al., 1981; Dillman et al., 1983; Walsh, 1989; Schipper and Hawk,
1991; Scott, 1997; Poortinga et al., 2003). There may be varying reasons for this. If a household
belongs to a low income group, it would be very likely to consume less amounts of energy as a cost
saving measure and would not have the ability to respond to calls for greater conservation activity
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(Kasulis et al., 1981). The restricted access to credit and transactions costs (such as time and effort)
also makes residential conservation actions prohibitive for low income households (Dillman et al.,
In contrast, Gamtessa (2013) argues that high-income households are less likely to undertake retrofit
investment, possibly because energy expenditure accounts for a very small share of their income.
Factors such as household size and the number of young children in the household are suggested to
have a direct effect on energy behaviour (Long, 1993; Van Raaij and Verhallen, 1983; Young, 2008).
more intense use would lead to faster replacement. For similar reasons, the number of young
washing machines or dryers (Young, 2008). In contrast, empirical results by Curtis (1984) implies
higher energy-saving activity for households with two to four members than for other household
sizes, while the impact of household size on energy-saving expenditures in the study by Long (1993)
is negative.
The empirical evidence of the impact of education levels and occupations on energy-saving activities
is rather mixed. Some studies indicate that higher levels of education are associated with greater
energy-saving activities (Hirst and Goeltz, 1982; Brechling and Smith, 1994; Scott, 1997), while
others find no evidence of the impact of education on energy efficiency behaviours (Curtis et al.,
1984; Ritchie et al., 1981; Stead, 2005; Mills and Schleich, 2010). Similarly, some research claims that
people with high skill occupations can easily adopt energy conservation strategies (Olsen, 1983),
while others report that occupation of the respondents had no significant influence on households
4
iv. Age
Numerous empirical studies show that home owners age influences energy efficiency behaviour,
though the effects appear to be rather mixed (Carlsson-Kanyama et al., 2005; Mahapatra and
Gustavsson, 2008). Some studies argue that younger heads of households are more likely to make a
conservation improvement, and older home owners are less likely to adopt energy efficiency
investment measures (Mahapatra and Gustavsson, 2008). While Long (1993) reveals a positive sign
between the age of the respondent and the money spent for energy efficiency improvements.
Whereas Hirst and Goeltz (1982) clarify that age has a curvilinear relationship with conservation
behaviour, as young and elderly households take fewer actions than those in their middle age.
v. Gender
Some studies claim that women are more willing to invest in energy efficiency improvement (Zelezny
et al., 2000; Carlsson-Kanyama and Linden, 2007). A meta-review by Zelezny et al. (2000) of 13
studies showed that in approximately 70% of the studies, women were reported to show more pro-
environmental behaviour. Yue et al. (2013) also observe that women have more interpersonal
interaction about energy conservations, compared to other groups. However, other studies report
no statistical relationship between respondents gender and their energy efficiency behaviour
Some studies suggest that the home ownership status is a vital influence in the adoption of energy
efficiency measures since they are more available to home owners, whereas curtailment of energy
consumption may be the only option for renters (Black et al., 1985; Costanzo et al., 1986; Rehdanz,
2007). For this reason, some researchers only include the households who are the home owners in
5
vii. Dwelling characteristics
There is also empirical evidence on the impact of dwelling characteristics on household energy
efficiency investments. Nair (2010) indicates that the age of the house can influence the adoption of
building energy efficiency measures. Ritchie et al. (1981) find a positive relationship between
housing size and the adoption of energy-efficient measures. Gamtessa (2013) observes that the
existing energy efficiency characteristics of a house, indicated by thermal insulation, window and
doors energy efficiency characteristics, etc., have a strong impact on household future retrofit
decision.
The geographical location of the house has also been found to be another vital determinant of
energy saving behaviour (Zografakis et al., 2010; Nair, 2010; Walsh, 1989). Scott (1997) observes a
Ireland. Furthermore, Walsh (1989) and Long (1993) observe that home owners residing in warmer
climates are statistically less likely to invest in energy conservation than families living in colder
states.
b. Psychological factors
A number of studies suggest that energy conserving behaviours may also be dependent on
psychological variables (Abrahamse and Steg, 2009). Some studies even argue that household
energy savings appear to be mostly associated with psychological factors rather than socio-
demographic characteristics (Brandon and Lewis, 1999; Abrahamse and Steg, 2009). The theory of
planned behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) and Schwartz (1977) norm activation model (NAM) are often
used to examine pro-environmental behaviour (Bonnes & Bonaiuto, 2002). Several studies have
extended the TPB with NAM variables, the personal norm concept in particular (Parker et al., 1995).
6
Psychological factors are therefore broken into attitude, subjective norms, perceived behaviour
control and residue effects for the analysis of household energy efficiency behaviours in current
i. Attitude
which largely depends on the evaluation of preference to electricity saving and the information the
individual holds towards such a behaviour (Wang, et al., 2011). Households attitudes towards caring
for the environment and their perception of their contribution to the energy problems are important
factors influencing energy conservation activities (Verhallen and Van Raaij 1981; Ek and Sderholm,
2010). A positive attitude towards the environment may encourage the adoption of energy
efficiency measures (Barr et al., 2005; Darby, 2006; Palmborg, 1986), and the greater the perceived
seriousness of the problem, the more likely one would support strategies for promoting energy
conservation (Olsen, 1983). Households knowledge of energy conservation alternatives is also vital
for taking energy conservation actions (Olsen, 1981). Some researchers therefore integrate those
two attitudinal perspectives and indicate that people with stronger awareness for climate change
and more energy saving information are more likely to purchase renewable energy and participate in
Subjective norm refers to the perceived social pressure to perform or retrain from behaviour
(Abrahamse and Steg, 2009). Ek and Sderholm (2010) state that social interactions attach great
importance to electricity saving behaviour since other peoples attitudes and behaviour in electricity
saving may influence individuals willingness for electricity saving activities. Besides, media
promotion for environment protection and climate change may reduce residents unnecessary
electricity consumption. Yue et al. (2013) observe that women and older people have more
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iii. Perceived behavioural control
largely depends on the weighting of the costs and benefits in the process of performing specific
behaviour (Lindenberg and Steg, 2007). Household energy cost could influence home owners choice
of energy efficiency measures (Black et al., 1985). Home owners who perceive the energy cost to be
high may invest in energy efficiency measures if they believe that existing measures would not
sufficiently reduce energy cost. Besides, the comfort or discomfort (e.g. thermal comfort or air
quality) that residents felt when conducting certain kinds of electricity-saving behaviour have a
significant influence on their further energy saving activities (Banfi and Farsi, 2008). For example, the
need for greater thermal comfort may encourage investment related to space heating and insulation
Residue effect refers to the past behaviour or experience of individuals, which may affect their
intention to perform particular behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). Previous investment in energy efficiency
improvements in the house might increase home owners confidence in further adoption of energy
efficient measures (Costanzo et al., 1986). However, past investments could also discourage further
adoption due to financial constraints or simply because home owners may believe that they have
According to Zografakis et al. (2010), those who have invested in some energy saving measures, or
the residents who had suffered electricity shortage before would intend to adopt more energy
saving measures. Feng and Sovacool (2010) also indicate that the residents who had the experience
of brownouts of electricity use in China would have more concern about electricity saving.
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c. Structural factors
Factors such as government subsidy and regional socio-economic conditions could influence
residential energy conservation investment decisions (Braun, 2010; Mahapatra, et al., 2008; Sadler,
2003).
Many researchers have stressed the importance of energy prices on the energy-saving behaviour of
households. The literature has plenty of studies demonstrating the statistically significant
relationship between energy price changes and the conservation measures that individuals are likely
to adopt (Black et al., 1985; Walsh, 1989; Long, 1993). Although it is commonly expected that energy
price inflation encourages conservation, there may be opposite cases. This happens because energy-
efficient equipment can be expensive at the time of purchasing and households tend to ignore that
energy-conserving appliances are less expensive in use (Schipper and Hawk, 1991).
Recent empirical research has focused on the impact of tax credits or subsidy schemes on household
energy efficiency behaviours. Some researchers argue that specific tax credits or subsidies do not
induce conservation activities (Pitts and Wittenbach, 1981; Held, 1983; Walsh, 1989). In contrast,
there are studies providing evidence for a positive relationship between tax credits or subsidies and
energy conservation activities. Cameron (1985) indicates that a government subsidy equal to 15% of
improvement costs would cause 3% of households to make some conservation improvement. Long
(1993) finds that households will spend more on energy conservation items when these investments
Following previous studies on energy-efficiency improvement behaviours (e.g., Olsen, 1981; Steg,
2008; Stern, 1992; Kang et al., 2012; Black et al., 1985; DeWaters and Powers, 2011; Dias et al.,
9
2004), a logistic model was chosen to examine the factors that influence household energy-
efficiency improvement behaviours, given the binary nature of the dependent variables available to
(1)
where
IV. Data
The ABS 2012 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS) aims to capture the energy
The scope of the survey was usual residents of private dwellings in urban and rural areas of Australia
(very remote areas were out of scope). This accounts for close to 97% of the Australian population.
The sample was collected using a stratified, multistage clustered design. The following table shows
the distribution of the final samples between states and territories and between capital cities and
The HECS collected a large number of energy related items ranging from energy sources,
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household heating and cooling practices. The research covered in this paper focuses on energy
behaviours, principally, energy efficiency modifications made to the dwelling in the last 2 years and
intentions of the household to make energy efficient modifications in the next 12 months.
Modifications include one or more of the following items: replacing electric hot water system with
gas hot water system and installing solar hot water system, solar electricity (PV panels), insulation,
ceiling fans, double glazed /louvre windows, tinted glass or solar guarding, heavy curtains or blinds
that improved energy efficiency (e.g. blockout, honeycomb, venetian), outside awnings/shutters that
improved energy efficiency and replacing appliances for more efficient models (ABS, 2013). Along
with these detailed energy variables, the survey also collected socio-demographic information, some
b. Variable description
Following previous studies on energy efficiency improvement behaviours (e.g., Olsen, 1981; Steg,
2008; Stern, 1992; Kang et al., 2012; Black et al., 1985; DeWaters and Powers, 2011; Dias et al.,
2004) and based on the modelling framework provided in the previous section, a set of variables
were chosen to identify the factors associated with household energy efficiency improvement
behaviours.
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i. Dependent variables
modification made to dwelling in previous 2 years and type of modification intended in the next 12
months. The responses received from the households show that out of the 11978 households,
5,242 households (43.76%) have made at least one type of modifications in last two years, and 2,587
(21.60%) are intending to make at least one type of modifications in the next 12 months. There are
1,590 households (13.27%) who have made at least one type of modifications before and intend to
make more modifications in the coming 12 months. Therefore the binary variables of enef_moda
(1= modification made, 0= modification havent made) and enef_modi (1= have intention to
make modification, 0= have no intention to make modification) were used as the dependent
variables.
This analysis focused mainly on the effect of socio-demographic and psychological factors on
household energy efficiency improvement behaviours, given the nature and data availability of the
HECS datasets.
The socio-demographic variables include measures of family income level and composition,
indicators of household reference person characteristics (e.g., age, sex and occupation), components
of current dwelling characteristics, (e.g., home ownership, dwelling structure and age, number of
bedrooms), existing dwelling energy efficiency characteristics (window treatment, solar hot water
The psychological factors include households energy saving attitudes represented by curtailments of
energy consumption the household members are currently taking (i.e. taking short showers, using
cold water for all or most clothes washes, drying clothes on a washing line for all or most washes,
switching off chargers for rechargeable appliances when not in use, etc.), perceived behavioural
control measured by household total weekly energy expenditure, and the residue effect indicated by
12
type of modification made to dwelling in previous 2 years (this variable is only included in the
Some data transformations were undertaken prior to modelling. The logarithmic values of weekly
disposable household income and household total weekly energy expenditure were used to reduce
skewness and to avoid potential exponential growth patterns of these two variables. This meant
around 135 observations had to be dropped (out of 11,978 observations), due to negative or 0
values in their weekly disposable income and weekly energy cost. Other explanatory variables were
transformed to either binary or categorical variables. The descriptive statistics for both the
dependent and independent variables used in this analysis are presented in Table 3.
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Table 3: Variables included in this analysis: descriptive statistics
Variables Type Scales Proportion (%)
Dependent variables
Modification action Binary 1= modification made 43.95
enef_moda 0= modification havent made 56.05
Modification intention Binary 1= have intention to make modification 21.71
enef_modi 0= have no intention to make 78.29
modification
Independent variables
Family composition Categorical 1= "parents with children" 31.75
dcomphh2 2= "couples only" 28.91
3= "lone person" 25.68
4= "others" 13.66
Occupation Categorical 0= "others" 32.73
of HH ref person 1= "managers" 11.19
occrh 2= "professionals" 27.43
3= "service workers" 28.65
Age of HH ref person Categorical 1= "34 years old and below" 18.42
agerh 2= "35 to 44 years old" 19.26
3= "45 to 54 years old" 20.75
4= "55 to 64 years old" 20.43
5= "65 years old and above" 21.14
Sex of HH ref person Binary 1= male 58.06
sexrh 0= female 41.94
Home ownership Binary 1= "owner" 68.25
tenureh 0= "renter and other types" 31.75
Dwelling type Binary 1= "house" 81.34
dweltyph 0= "others" 18.66
Dwelling age Categorical 1= "less than 10 years" 16.51
enef01 2= "10 to 30 years" 33.00
3= "more than 30 year" 48.97
4= "don't know" 1.53
Geographical location Categorical 1= "NSW" 2= "Vic" 3= "Qld" 4= "SA" See table 1
state06 5= "WA" 6= "Tas" 7= "NT" 8= "ACT"
Energy saving attitudes Binary 1= "5 and more actions taken to reduce 65.52
enef18 energy cost"
0= "less than 5 actions taken to reduce 34.48
energy cost"
Insulation treatment Binary 1= "insulation in dwelling" 73.95
hhinsula 0= "no insulation in dwelling" 26.05
Window treatment Binary 1= "has window treatment" 91.48
enef04 0= "no window treatment" 8.52
Solar hot water system Binary 1= "has solar system" 17.55
shwsele 0= "no solar system" 82.45
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V. Empirical model and results
Two separate econometric models were estimated to identify the factors that drive household
Given the binary nature of the dependent variables, a logistic regression approach was used. The
explanatory variables used in the two models are slightly different due to the nature of these
variables, i.e. one model is capturing past actions and the other capturing future intentions.
For the household modification action model, energy cost was not included as an explanatory
variable, given that the dependent variable is the modification actions in the last two years, while
the energy cost data collected in HECS is current cost. Therefore the energy cost was only included in
the intention model to avoid potential measurement error. For the household modification intention
model, the modification action variable (enef_moda) was included as an explanatory variable to
analyse the possible impact of previous investment experience on future investment motivations.
( )
{ ( )
}
(2)
( )
{ ( )
}
(3)
where
15
( ) is the probability of the household having intention/s to make
The estimated coefficients and corresponding standard error values for both models are displayed in
Table 4. The correctly classified per cent concordance values of 65.25% and 78.35% for both models
respectively show that the variables included have statistically significant contribution to the
In general, the results obtained appear to be consistent with those observed in the literature. They
indicate that socio-demographic factors like household income levels, family composition, age of
household reference person, home ownership, dwelling type and age, and geographical location
have statistically significant association with the intention to have, or to actually adopt, energy
efficiency modifications. This can also be seen for psychological factors of household energy
efficiency attitudes and perceived behavioural control and past investment experiences. It is also
worth noting that the direction and degree of significance of these factors differ between the actions
and intention models. However, unlike many previous research studies, occupation and sex of
household reference person, the number of bedrooms, and window and insulation treatments were
The estimation results show that some of the above factors have positive, negative or mixed effects
This analysis confirms previous studies finding that household income has a positive effect on
energy efficiency investments. The likelihood of actually making modifications or intending to have
16
Table 4: Parameter estimates for the logistic regression models
Dependent variable:
Modification action Modification intention
Independent variables coef se coef se
Income level 0.157*** 0.032 0.072* 0.038
Family composition (base=parents with child)
Couples only -0.120** 0.060 -0.078 0.068
Lone person -0.443*** 0.068 -0.035 0.082
Others -0.230*** 0.069 -0.252*** 0.082
Occupation of HH ref person (base=others)
Managers -0.074 0.085 -0.111 0.102
Professionals -0.068 0.072 0.024 0.086
Service workers -0.111* 0.066 -0.042 0.082
Age of HH ref person (base=34 years old and below)
35-44 years old 0.126* 0.069 -0.187** 0.078
45-54 years old -0.004 0.068 -0.268*** 0.077
55-64 years old 0.086 0.073 -0.559*** 0.085
65 years old and above -0.247*** 0.087 -1.203*** 0.109
Sex of HH ref person (Male=1) -0.047 0.042 -0.020 0.050
Home ownership (Owner=1) 1.297*** 0.052 1.103*** 0.073
Dwelling type (House=1) 0.215*** 0.065 0.131 0.083
Bedroom numbers 0.022 0.028 -0.042 0.034
Dwelling age (base= less than 10 years)
10-30 years old 0.521*** 0.061 0.101 0.073
More than 30 years 0.497*** 0.059 0.173** 0.070
Not sure -0.075 0.217 -0.293 0.294
Geographical location (base=New South Wales)
Victoria -0.029 0.068 -0.102 0.082
Queensland 0.064 0.072 -0.094 0.087
South Australia 0.184*** 0.068 0.097 0.081
West Australia 0.119* 0.071 0.038 0.085
Tasmania -0.095 0.078 0.168* 0.092
Northern Territory 0.149 0.120 -0.253* 0.153
Australian Capital Territory 0.038 0.096 0.015 0.112
Attitudes 0.337*** 0.043 0.276*** 0.052
Energy cost 0.089** 0.040
Past investments 0.623*** 0.050
Existing characteristics
Window treatment (Yes=1) -0.136 0.091
Solar hot water system (Yes=1) -0.121* 0.063
Insulation treatment (Yes=1) 0.047 0.069
_cons -2.941*** 0.244 -2.989*** 0.322
Pseudo R2 0.095 0.087
Per cent Concordance 65.25% 78.35%
note: *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1
17
As expected, the home ownership factor is positively related to modification motivation and action,
indicating that home owners are more likely to invest in energy efficiency improvement practices.
This could be due to many reasons. Firstly, people living in rented accommodation might not have
the right, as tenants, to make modifications to the homes. Secondly, home owners gain the personal
benefits of investment, either by energy savings, increase in property values etc., whereas renters
are not likely to invest money in improving the energy efficiency or value of their landlords
property. Finally, conservation practices are less likely to be adopted by renters because their
expectations, as far as the rate of return on their investments is concerned, are relatively low due to
Similarly, dwelling type has a strong positive impact on household modification actions, indicating
that the households living in a house are more likely to conduct energy efficiency modifications
compared to those in an apartment or townhouse. However, the statistical significance level of this
A dwelling age of more than ten years increases the likelihood of the household implementing
energy efficiency measures. For modification intentions, it seems that only owners of the dwellings
of more than 30 years old are more likely to consider modifications. This result is consistent with
Nair (2010)s conclusion that households living in older houses are more likely to undertake retrofit
measures because old houses may be in physically or aesthetically poorer condition, requiring the
The positive relationships observed in both models between household energy efficiency attitudes
and the modification actions and intentions also confirm the expectation that a positive attitude
towards the environment may encourage the motivation and then adoption of energy efficiency
measures, and the greater the perceived seriousness of the problem, the more likely one should be
18
Factors with negative effects
Most of these effects are differences in the likelihood of doing or planning modifications between
the reference group and others. The estimation results of the two models show negative impacts of
families with dependent children, lone person households and the couples only families have
adopted less modification investments in past and are less willing to make more modifications in
future.
The age of household reference person has mixed effects on the likelihood of modification actions
and intentions. The results from the second model show that those above 35 years old are less likely
to have modification intentions compared to the younger cohorts. The likelihood of not intending to
have modifications increases with age. The results from the first model, however, show that only the
older cohort (more than 65 years old) is significantly less likely to have modification actions, while
the 35-44 years old cohort is the most proactive in adopting energy efficiency modification.
The results also show mixed effects of the geographical location variable. It appears that households
in SA and WA were mostly likely to have made modifications, while households in Tasmania are
more likely to have intentions to make modifications. Households in NT are less likely to have
For the explanatory variables that are only included in the second model, the results also show
mixed outcomes.
Consistent with previous studies, the results from the intention model show that energy cost has a
statistically significant positive effect on the likelihood of intending to make modifications. They also
show that past investment experience in energy efficiency improvements has a positive effect on the
19
likelihood to have intentions to make further modifications in the future. This observation is
consistent with previous studies which showed that those who have invested in some energy saving
measures in the past would intend to conduct more energy saving actions in the future.
The results for window and insulation treatments are not statistically significant, but already having
a solar hot water system decreases the likelihood of having intentions to make future modifications.
This is consistent with previous studies which said that more efficient homes are less likely to
This study analysed the factors associated with the likelihood of households implementing or
intending to implement energy efficiency actions. The results can provide important insights into
the profile of households and their behaviours with respect to conservation and efficiency measures.
The results showed that modification actions are more dominantly impacted by socio-demographic
The study has limitations that are noted for future improvements. Firstly, the model for
modification actions assumes that the there are no significant measurement errors due to the two
years gap between the dependent variable (actions undertaken in the last two years) and the
independent variables (current characteristics). Secondly, due to the unavailability of data related to
structural factors such as government subsidy, tax credits and energy prices, this analysis is unable
decisions to adopt energy efficiency measures. Future research should take these into account.
20
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