Changing demand: flexibility of energy practices in households with children (final report)

This report summarises the findings and recommendations from the ‘Changing Demand: Flexibility of energy practices in households with children’ research project funded by the Consumer Advocacy Panel. The project aimed to understand how households with children may be affected by electricity market reforms and demand management initiatives, such as cost-reflective pricing. The study involved 44 in-depth interviews, home tours and observations and a national survey with over 500 Australian households with children. Overview In households with children, many of the practices which use energy are coordinated and concentrated in the late afternoon and early evening on weekdays. Parents’ reliance on routine to manage the demands of family life limits the flexibility of energy use. With limited ability to shift practices to other times of the day, and priorities such as ‘doing what’s best for children’ and ‘using time efficiently’ taking precedence, households with children risk financial disadvantage under pricing strategies such as Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing. Financial insecurity is widespread in, but not limited to, low-income and sole parent households. Health concerns, thermally inefficient housing and appliances, housing tenure, safety and noise concerns, and widespread tariff confusion also restrict the capacity of households with children to manage energy use and costs. Many parents had little time, interest or trust to investigate tariff choice and available energy information. As such, increasing choice and complexity in electricity market offerings does not meet the needs of these households and TOU pricing is unlikely to achieve its aims with this household group. Family routines were more amenable to disruption on an occasional basis for non-financial reasons. For example, 85 per cent of survey respondents said they would reduce electricity use for a ‘peak alert’ in hot weather.  Acting for the ‘common good’ appealed to most parents, for example to prevent an electricity outage and/or be part of a community effort. Household activities considered inflexible for a hypothetical TOU tariff, such as home cooling, television and computer activities and cooking, were considered.  Recommendations from this study include reassessing the energy policy focus on price signals, tariff choice and information to address issues of household demand in Australia. Several alternatives are proposed such as peak alerts, and affordable access to public cooling during hot peak days.&nbsp

Changing demand: flexibility of energy practices in households with children (interim report)

This report investigates the practices that use energy in households with children to understand change and flexibility for demand management. The findings suggest that demand management and engagement activities need to go beyond individually motivating family households to save money, protect the environment, or make better choices in the electricity market. Overview Family households represent 25% of Australian households and face particular challenges as a result of rapid changes in the energy market and pricing structures. The Changing Demand: Flexibility of Energy Practices in Households with Children Project investigates how energy demand is changing in households with children and the likely implications of more cost-reflective network tariffs for this consumer group. This interim report discusses the findings from in-depth interviews conducted with 44 family households which will inform a national survey later in 2014. Children’s needs came first and daily routines enabled family households to manage the range of competing priorities and activities. Household activities in the late afternoon and early evening were highly coordinated and coincided with peak tariff period for Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity pricing. Family practices held meanings which are distinct from how these practices are valued and performed in other types of households. In particular, family health, children’s ongoing development, providing practical life skills, and enabling fun and socialisation were valued benefits. Energy use changed as children aged and went through various stages of life development and as new practice expectations emerged and changed with the introduction of new technologies, changing house design, increasing energy costs, and changing priorities. Information and communications technology (ICT) practices was the biggest area of concern and rapid change for family households and many parents felt they had little ‘control’ over their children’s usage. Parents’ were often conflicted about the potential health and wellbeing impacts of their children’s ICT use with the potential educational, development and communication functionalities these devices might provide. These competing priorities and concerns took precedence over any ICT-related energy concerns. Electricity usage was not a key consideration in other everyday activities or priorities despite rising electricity bills being a common concern or contributor to financial stress for family households. Most householders had low levels of energy literacy and engagement and felt unable to make appropriate choices about electricity tariffs and providers, and some were consciously disengaging from the current energy market focus on energy choices. Many were uncertain about their current electricity tariff. It was not practicable for most family households to change their routines to respond to a TOU tariff. Rapid change in family householders added to concerns about the financial impact of a TOU tariff on family households.  Family households were flexible and adaptable in response to the ‘normal’ disruptions of everyday family life. Most householders were willing to shift their routines in response to occasional alerts about critical peak demand. They described concerns for the ‘common good’ and the need to work together for social benefits or health and wellbeing of others (distinct from personal financial gain or environmental benefits). The findings suggest that current consumer demand management and engagement activities need to go beyond individually motivating family households to save money, protect the environment, or make better choices in the electricity market. Peak alerts, framed as a natural event or an ‘exceptional circumstance’ that benefits a common good and assists reliable and affordable access to electricity, is a potentially agreeable and productive strategy for engaging families to reduce energy use at times of peak demand

Peak electricity demand and social practice theories: Reframing the role of change agents in the energy sector

Demand managers currently draw on a limited range of psychology and economic theories in order to shift and shed peak electricity demand. These theories place individual consumers and their attitudes, behaviours and choices at the centre of the problem. This paper reframes the issue of peak electricity demand using theories of social practices, contending that the 'problem' is one of transforming, technologically-mediated social practices. It reflects on how this body of theory repositions and refocuses the roles and practices of professions charged with the responsibility and agency for affecting and managing energy demand. The paper identifies three areas where demand managers could refocus their attention: (i) enabling co-management relationships with consumers; (ii) working beyond their siloed roles with a broader range of human and non-human actors; and (iii) promoting new practice 'needs' and expectations. It concludes by critically reflecting on the limited agency attributed to 'change agents' such as demand managers in dominant understandings of change. Instead, the paper proposes the need to identify and establish a new group of change agents who are actively but often unwittingly involved in reconfiguring the elements of problematic peaky practice

Air-conditioning Australian households: The impact of dynamic peak pricing

International mandates for smart metering are enabling variable and real-time pricing regimes such as dynamic peak pricing(DPP), which charges 10-40 times the off-peak rate for electricity during short periods. This regime aims to reduce peak electricity demand (predominantly due to increase in residential air-conditioning usage)and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Although trials indicate that DPP can achieve significant demand reductions, particularly in summer, little is known about how or why households change their cooling practices in response to this strategy. This paper discusses the outcomes of a small qualitative study assessing the impact of a DPP trial on household cooling practices in the Australian state of New South Wales. The study challenges common assumptions about the necessity of air-conditioning and impact of price signals. It finds that DPP engages households as co-managers of their cooling practices through a series of notification signals (SMS, phone, in-home display, email, etc.). Further, by linking the price signal to air-conditioning, some householders consider this practice discretionary for short periods of time. The paper concludes by warning that policy makers and utilities may serve to legitimise air-conditioning usage and/or negate demand reductions by failing to acknowledge the non-rational dynamics of DPP and household cooling practices

Disconnections case studies: understanding the householder experience

A dramatic increase in the number of Victorian households experiencing involuntary electricity and/or gas disconnections has prompted a review of disconnections by the Victorian government. This research into the direct and indirect costs that arise from disconnections was commissioned by the Consumer Action Law Centre and contributed to their \u27Heat or Eat\u27 report. Summary of key themes 1) Disconnections were part of complex family, health and financial circumstances. Disconnections did not occur in a vacuum: participants were typically experiencing numerous financial stresses at the time when they were disconnected, and these were often intertwined with complex crises. Domestic violence was often a contributing factor. 2) Inadequate retailer responses and practices. Participants\u27 reports indicated numerous deficiencies in retailer practices including demands for unreasonable upfront and ongoing payments, lack of information about services and concessions which could assist householders, and aggressive marketing practices.  3) Impact on mental health and wellbeing. Disconnections caused significant distress for most participants. Participants experienced feelings of shame, humiliation, fear and anxiety. The disconnection events compounded existing mental health issues and had a serious impact on participants’ wellbeing. 4) Financial impact. Disconnections resulted in various extra costs for participants that made it harder to get out of debt and avoid future payment defaults and disconnections. In addition to disconnection and reconnection fees, less obvious costs included: replacement of spoilt food; take-away meals for the family; use of public laundries or BBQs; phone calls; entry to public facilities to shower; and purchase of candles, blankets and other goods to manage in the absence of heating, lighting etc. 5) Impact on dependants. The disconnections often impacted children. Parents struggled to provide food and worried about the health and emotional impact on their children. 6) Financial counsellors and the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria. Financial counsellors and/or EWOV eventually assisted negotiations for participants and usually achieved outcomes that participants had not been able to. However, it took time to find this assistance because participants were unaware of these services or where to look for them

Materialising energy and water resources in everyday practices: Insights for securing supply systems

Policies to secure energy and water supplies from the impacts of climate change are currently being developed or are in place in many developed nations. Little is known about how these policies of security, and the systems of resource provision they prioritise, affect householders' capacity to adapt to climate change. To better understand the connections between resource provision and consumption, this paper explores the notion that different 'energies' and 'waters' can be conceptualised as material elements of social practices, which shape the way practices are performed. We draw on a study of Australian migrants and their experiences with different resource provision systems in multiple countries, time periods and contexts across three generations. We discuss the differing characteristics of energy and water provision across three broad resource 'eras', and the way resources enable or reduce resourcefulness, adaptive capacity and resilience. We find that policy makers may inadvertently reduce householders' capacity to respond and adapt to climate change impacts by prioritising the resource characteristics of immateriality, abundance and homogeneity. We conclude that policy which prioritises the resource characteristics of materiality, diversity and scarcity is an important, underutilised and currently unacknowledged source of adaptive capacity

Air-conditioning and antibiotics: Demand management insights from problematic health and household cooling practices

Air-conditioners and antibiotics are two technologies that have both been traditionally framed around individual health and comfort needs, despite aspects of their use contributing to social health problems. The imprudent use of antibiotics is threatening the capacity of the healthcare system internationally. Similarly, in Australia the increasing reliance on air-conditioning to maintain thermal comfort is contributing to rising peak demand and electricity prices, and is placing an inequitable health and financial burden on vulnerable heat-stressed households. This paper analyses policy responses to these problems through the lens of social practice theory. In the health sector, campaigns are attempting to emphasise the social health implications of antibiotic use. In considering this approach in relation to the problem of air-conditioned cooling and how to change the ways in which people keep cool during peak times, our analysis draws on interviews with 80 Australian households. We find that the problem of peak electricity demand may be reduced through attention to the social health implications of air-conditioned cooling on very hot days. We conclude that social practice theory offers a fruitful analytical route for identifying new avenues for research and informing policy responses to emerging health and environmental problems

Effects of precipitation uncertainty on discharge calculations for main river basins

This study quantifies the uncertainty in discharge calculations caused by uncertainty in precipitation input for 294 river basins worldwide. Seven global gridded precipitation datasets are compared at river basin scale in terms of mean annual and seasonal precipitation. The representation of seasonality is similar in all datasets, but the uncertainty in mean annual precipitation is large, especially in mountainous, arctic, and small basins. The average precipitation uncertainty in a basin is 30%, but there are strong differences between basins. The effect of this precipitation uncertainty on mean annual and seasonal discharge was assessed using the uncalibrated dynamic global vegetation and hydrology model Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed land (LPJmL), yielding even larger uncertainties in discharge (average 90%). For 95 basins (out of 213 basins for which measurements were available) calibration of model parameters is problematic because the observed discharge falls within the uncertainty of the simulated discharge. A method is presented to account for precipitation uncertainty in discharge simulations

'Going green'?: The limitations of behaviour change programmes as a policy response to escalating resource consumption

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature highlighting the limitations of behaviour change and the emergence of a social practice approach to reframe responses to escalating resource consumption. Drawing insights from interviews with Australian households and workshops with behaviour change practitioners, we demonstrate how the 'Going Green' discourse, which focuses on targeting individuals to participate in 'easy' sustainability actions, overlooks the majority of consumption implicated in everyday practices. This leaves unchallenged the complex ways in which our lives are becoming more resource intensive. We argue for an ontological framing of social change underpinned by theories of social practice. Rather than considering policies, regulations and infrastructures involving urban form, housing, transport and infrastructure provision as 'external factors' separate from behaviour, practice theories accord them integral status in the constitution of social order and change. This represents a more challenging agenda for practitioners and governments in shifting and transforming everyday life

The great Australian nightmare? The problem of escalating housing aspirations and expectations and adaptation to climate change

The dominant trend in Australian cities towards large, detached, energy intensive dwellings in poorly serviced, low-density, urban fringe locations, leaves governments, households and communities more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and does little to aid mitigation. Given the multiple and competing objectives of the stakeholders involved, reducing domestic energy consumption is more complex than attempting to change what Shove (2010) refers to as the ABC ('attitudes, behaviours and choices') of individual householders. What is needed is a better understanding of the dynamic and integrated processes resulting in escalating expectations and aspirations for Australian housing. Along this vein, we suggest the 'great Australian dream' is actually becoming a great Australian nightmare. In our critique we investigate what is meant by a 'normal' home and how aspirations and expectations for housing have changed over time. Drawing on theories of social practice we look at what goes on inside homes to explore how everyday practices and the design of houses are mutually constitutive. In our analysis we find that seemingly common-place aspirations for housing are the result of changing practices, such as cooking, eating and entertaining, which are resulting in escalating trajectories of consumption. We conclude by suggesting how policy attention could be refocused on transforming the relationship between house design and everyday practice to address climate change