Encouraging the household energy efficiency of high-income earners - towards an approach for South Africa.
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Date
2005
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Abstract
High-income households are important for advancing energy efficiency in South Africa and
yet little is known about how to encourage lower energy use behaviour in this group. This
paper sets out the case for wide-scale research into how to encourage high-income
earners to be more energy efficient behaviour in the home and presents the results of a
prototype study. Behaviour change research offers no one framework for investigating
behaviour in this group. However, the Theory of Planned Behaviour is a model, which has
been successfully employed to understand and formulate behaviour interventions across a
wide range of subject, including household energy use. In order to understand the
potential of this model as a way of investigating how to encourage energy efficient
household behaviour of high-income earners, a study investigating the model's practical
and theoretical issues and benefits was undertaken . Component A sets the case for the
important role high-income earners can play in achieving energy efficiency targets,
summarises the history of relevant psychological research and establishes a methodology
for the study. Component B summarises the case for the study and presents the research
results and lessons learned in the style of a journal paper. The results suggest that the
model has promise. Attitudes, Subjective Norms and Perceived Behavioural Controls
accounted for 63.7% of the variance in intention of the sample to be energy efficient in the
home. However, the study indicates that the model, although useful, is not sufficient for
understanding actual behaviour and informing appropriate practica l interventions.
Consequently a number of suggestions are made as to how to design a future research
approach.
Description
Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
Keywords
Energy conservation--Economic aspects--South Africa., Energy consumption--Economic aspects--South Africa., Energy consumption--Research--South Africa., Electric power--Conservation--Research--South Africa., Electric power--Consumption--Research--South Africa., Theses--Environmental science.