GreenWise provides a good review of a recent government survey that shows that support for renewable energy is increasing. But the survey reveals that the public still has bad energy consumption habits.
More people back renewable energy, but energy wasting behaviour persists, DECC survey shows
Support for renewable energy is rising among the UK public, but the nation can’t seem to kick its energy wasting habits, the latest Government survey of public attitudes towards energy and climate change reveals.
The number of people in the UK supporting renewable energy, such as wind, solar and wave, has risen to 82 per cent, three per cent more than three months ago, according to the fifth Public Attitudes Tracker survey conducted by Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The quarterly survey is intended to track and understand public attitudes to priority areas of the Government.
But the same poll reveals that energy wasting behaviours, such as leaving lights switched on when you are not in a room or boiling more water than you need to in the kettle, remain stubbornly high. Just 26 per cent of people admit giving a lot of thought to saving energy, despite energy efficiency being a priority policy of the Government and the launch in January of the Green Deal.
Wave five of the ‘DECC Public Attitudes Tracker’ surveyed more than 2000 households in March 2013 and revealed that 52 per cent of people admit to leaving the heating on when they are out for a few hours, compared to 25 per cent who said they did when the survey was first taken in early 2012. Those who say they leave lights on when they were not in a room stands at 52 per cent – the same as a year ago – while 67 per cent admit to boiling more water than required in the kettle, up from 64 per cent around a year ago.
Tackling rising energy bills
The picture is slightly brighter for the Government when it comes to policies to help tackle rising energy bills. The number of people who have installed a smart meter has doubled from six per cent in early 2012 to 12 per cent now. The Government is planning to rollout 53 million smart electricity and gas meters to all UK homes and to two million smaller businesses from 2014, at an estimated cost of £11.7 billion.
Meanwhile, 27 per cent of people say they are now aware of collective switching initiatives – an increase of six per cent compared to when the first survey was taken. However, despite efforts by DECC to get people to switch energy suppliers, only 16 per cent of people have actually done so – a rise of just one per cent over the same period. This is despite a record number of people now saying they are concerned about their energy bills – 59 per cent of UK adults compared to 56 per cent in wave one of the survey.
Despite the mixed picture, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey said the findings showed energy and climate change issues “are at the forefront of people’s minds” and that the Government’s low carbon energy policies had a clear public mandate.
“It comes as no surprise that energy bills are a concern, but the increase in collective switching awareness, as more and more people club together to increase their energy buying power, is encouraging.
“82 per cent of people interviewed for the study were supportive of renewable energy – a rise of three per cent from last year. This shows clear public support for Government to continue in its efforts of developing for low-carbon, home grown forms of energy.”
Energy policies
Alongside a rise in public support for renewable energy, the tracker reveals that awareness levels in shale gas has grown from 42 per cent to 52 per cent since wave two of the survey, when the question was first asked. Compared to this, awareness in carbon capture and storage (CCS) has only risen by half that amount – from 36 per cent in wave one to 41 per cent now.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 