Evaluation of household energy consumption: Impacts of increased residential building energy efficiency standards and user behaviour patterns in Australia

Justification of the Paper: Residential sector in urban areas is the third largest sector of final energy use in Australia, which accounts for about 12% of the country’s total final energy consumption. Reducing energy... [ view full abstract ]

Justification of the Paper: Residential sector in urban areas is the third largest sector of final energy use in Australia, which accounts for about 12% of the country’s total final energy consumption. Reducing energy consumption is vital to achieving reductions in carbon emissions. Policy makers and researchers are working towards low carbon cities. Several factors affect energy consumption including housing characteristics and lifestyle.
Purpose: Greater stringency in regulations for new housing construction has been introduced via changes to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) in the past decade. The policy aim of these measures at both national and state level is to enable reductions in household total energy use and mitigate total greenhouse carbon emissions attributed to the housing sector. This paper discusses the impact of the introduction of a National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) on the provision of new housing stock with a focus on developments in South Australia.
Theoretical framework: The paper presents results of an empirical study on household energy consumption carried out in two capitals cities in Australia. It captures relationships between energy consumption and housing characteristics and lifestyle. The impact of the introduction of Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme on the provision of new housing stock is also presented.
Results and conclusions: Energy rating schemes have the potential to improve the quality of housing stock. It is limited to new housing where thermal efficiency levels could be improved. A holistic approach to energy consumption would require city planning strategies to reduce the overall demand for household energy consumption.
Implications for Tipping Points: The empirical evidence presented in the paper help policy planners and housing industry professionals towards meaningful ways of mitigating carbon emissions.
Key words: Household energy consumption, House Energy Rating Scheme, National Construction Code.