According to a Newspoll survey conducted in April and May this year one in every two Australian households are considering making the switch to solar water heating over the next two years, probably due to a combination of generous Government rebates, the financial squeeze of rising electricity prices and concerns about the environment.
The Newspoll survey of 1,062 home-owners aged 18 to 641, commissioned by Solahart, showed that 55% of home owners were likely to consider installing solar water heating over the next two years, which is a significant increase on the 8% of households currently enjoying hot water free from the sun.
Environmental expert Tim Flannery said the results were exciting.
“Australians are among the highest greenhouse polluters on a per capita basis in the developed world, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels for energy. All Australians have a role to play in reducing carbon emissions and it’s promising to see that people are keen to take action,” said Mr Flannery.
“Electric water heaters are a major contributor to the problem, accounting for roughly a quarter of household energy consumption. By comparison, using a solar water heater saves about 3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year,” he added.
Solahart’s National Manager, Stephen Cranch agrees that solar water heating will increase significantly over the next two years.
“We expect the uptake will rival the huge spike in growth experienced by both the internet and mobile phones, with solar water heating becoming a part of everyday life for most Australian households,” said Mr Cranch. “It’s also good news for Australian workers as it will create hundreds of new jobs in the industry,” said Mr Cranch.
“Generous Government rebates are enticing droves of people to choose solar hot water systems, with most of the home-owners looking to change living in states that offer higher incentives, such as News South Wales and Victoria,” said Mr Cranch.
“The combination of State and Federal rebates provides eligible home-owners with between $1,600 and $2,800 back on solar hot water systems when replacing an electric water heater. These rebates are on top of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) worth around $1,000 (depending on system selected and the market price of the RECs) and in some cases a fully installed solar hot water system is around the same price as an electric water heater,” he added.
Electricity and gas price hikes are also driving the shift and this is only set to escalate.
“Seventy five per cent of homeowners believe electricity prices will rise by 20% or less over the next two years, but as we know many states have already been given the green light for increases above this,” said Mr Cranch.
“Choosing solar water heating is the best answer for consumers looking to reduce their energy consumption and there has never been a better or more affordable time to make the change.”
1Newspoll Omnibus Survey, 30 April-3 May and 14-17 May 2009, 1,062 Australian home owners aged 18-64
