Abstract:
Energy efficiency plays a major role in policies to mitigate climate change and to secure future energy supply. Understanding energy use behaviour and appliance energy use is vital to policy design. The drivers of energy use in household sector are complex. Households use energy for comfort, health and entertainment in contrast to, the uses of energy for making a profit in industrial and commercial sectors. As a part of this study a model was developed identifying the major drivers of household energy use.
Household income and behaviour, house size, appliance technology and appliance energy efficiency are few factors that can influence household energy consumption patterns. Many OECD countries have managed to restrain traditional household energy end-uses such as space and water heating. However, IEA studies have indicated energy used by information, communication and entertainment appliances continue to increase. Television energy use was chosen for this study because it is widely used and operates together with many other associated appliances. This analysis draws from the New Zealand Television Energy Usage and Purchasing Survey to understand the current trends and patterns of television usage. The survey suggests television and associated appliance ownership and usage is increasing. Analysis draws from the survey to quantify TV energy use in New Zealand. This study illustrates how household behaviour, technology and size affects household energy use. The survey also demonstrate how households associate energy use with environmental impact. Some OECD data on household energy was used to analyse and contrast New Zealand’s patterns in a wider context.
