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LONDON, England, November 2, 2005
(Refocus Weekly)
The UK government must take action to install
more solar panels, mini wind turbines and heat pumps into homes and
schools, according to a report from a government agency.
Generation of energy from renewables “has the power to engage
homes and schools to actively cut their energy use and connect with
climate change solutions,” concludes ‘Seeing the light: the impact
of micro-generation on the way we use energy,’ prepared by the
Sustainable Consumption Roundtable. The report claims to be the
first research into the effect of microgeneration on attitudes and
behaviours in homes and schools, and is set against the government
target of reducing carbon dioxide by 60% over the next 50 years.
Homes without these technologies failed to understand how they used
energy, with 100% of the sample claiming that switching suppliers
was the only way to reduce energy bills. They did not link their
concerns about climate change with their own behaviour, whereas
homes with renewable technologies were “able not only to understand,
but control their energy consumption, resulting in lower bills and a
zeal for saving energy throughout the home.”
The report analyses four groups: homes without microgeneration;
those which installed green technologies, those which inherited
technologies from a local authority; and schools. Homeowners who
installed their own technologies were divided into three groups:
environmentalists (motivated by environmental impact), independents
(motivated by self-sufficiency) and technophiles (motivated by new
innovations).
“Microgeneration has the power to lower bills and address fuel
poverty, particularly in households which inherit technologies from
their local authority,” it notes, while the “visible presence of
wind turbines and sun panels around the home provides a tangible
reminder of energy use, which also works to change behaviours.”
Microgeneration has the strongest impact when residents are
introduced to the technologies from the start and given a clear
explanation of their advantages, and schools with microgeneration
developed an “eco-friendly ethos” which was strengthened when
lessons on producing energy were incorporated into the course
curricula.
“We were set up to advise the government on the practical steps they
should take to help people reduce their environmental footprint,”
explains Alan Knight of the Sustainable Consumption Roundtable. “In
this instance, the case for microgeneration is strong and
straightforward.”
“We’re calling on government to take decisive action by making
microgeneration a focus in the Climate Change Programme Review and
facilitating the uptake of sustainable microgeneration technologies
in all new and refurbished buildings,” he adds.
The potential for micro-generation to allow homes or communities to
generate their own energy on site “has received an increasing amount
of interest from policy makers and press, yet little research has
been done into how it affects attitudes and behaviour around energy
and energy efficiency,” the report explains. “What was very clear
was that energy and power are not terms within their natural
language of mainstream householders.”
“Gas and electricity use operates at the level of the sub-conscious
within the home,” it says. “There is little conscious awareness that
lights, heating and appliances within the home are running off
fossil fuels extracted from the earth and sea, let alone that a
by-product of their usage is carbon emissions which are the key
drivers behind climate change.”
“Renewable energy was not a familiar term for most people,” it
notes. When prompted, awareness of solar panels was fairly high but
awareness of wind turbines was lower, although prompted respondents
remember having seen windfarms on holiday or on TV. “There was very
low awareness of domestic or roof-top turbines, and people were very
doubtful about these working or being allowed in their area.”
“Wind and solar energy were perceived to be a ‘good thing’ and there
was widespread knowledge that they were good for the environment,
though people could not say exactly why,” it says. “They were
perceived to be clean and modern technologies” but most research
participants were “extremely doubtful that they would ever be
willing to put up a solar panel or a wind turbine on their
properties.”
The report lists the major barriers as cost, non-suitable weather,
non-suitable property, too long-term an investment, aesthetic
concerns, and “too eccentric,” it explains.
The Sustainable Consumption Roundtable is a joint initiative of the
National Consumer Council and the Sustainable Development
Commission, and the report involved 120 consumers from across the
social spectrum. Climate change emerged as a source of anxiety and
concern, and consumers feel “locked into the systems and norms
around them” and are looking to government to lead from the front
and instigate change, the report notes.
“The Sustainable Consumption Roundtable is convinced that
significant and sustained progress will not be made towards the UK’s
carbon reduction targets without actively harnessing consumer
concern and converting it to action,” it concludes. “The challenge
is to raise people’s use of energy in the home from the subconscious
to the conscious, and enable them to feel part of the solution.”
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