Outcomes from Vitality Customers Australia’s newest ECBS survey offers insights into curiosity and motion in relation to house photo voltaic, batteries and EV uptake.
Based mostly on fieldwork accomplished in the course of August, ECA’s newest Vitality Client Behaviour Survey was carried out with a pattern dimension of two,384 households.
When it comes to Australians contemplating buying a solar energy system, battery storage or an EV in some unspecified time in the future (however not quickly), the next is how issues stacked up in 2022 in comparison with 2021.
- Photo voltaic: 17% (15%)
- Batteries: 24% (21%)
- Electrical Car: 23% (18%)
33% of respondents already had photo voltaic panels and 9% a house battery. With regard to a purchase order throughout the subsequent 12 months:
- Photo voltaic: 5% (5%)
- Batteries: 3% (3%)
- Electrical Car: 4% (3%)
… issues are static besides on the EV entrance. That’s fascinating given electrical energy worth rises previous to the survey. And whereas there are extra energy worth will increase doubtless on the best way, many Australians wouldn’t have been conscious of that state of affairs on the time the ECBS survey was carried out.
So, how about purchases in final 12 months?
- Photo voltaic: 7% (7%)
- Batteries: 2% (3%)
- Electrical Car: 1% (2%)
SolarQuotes noticed a major improve in curiosity in getting quotes beginning round late Could. It remained elevated for some time after which tapered off a bit earlier than returning with a vengeance early final week. This was pushed by in depth media protection on predicted additional energy worth hikes. Whether or not the most recent spike in curiosity shall be only a fast sugar-hit and can settle to still-elevated ranges or drop again additional stays to be seen.
Obstacles To Uptake
Commenting on the ECBS findings, Vitality Customers Australia Coverage Officer and social scientist Taneesha Amos-Hampson mentioned of the households who don’t have photo voltaic panels, solely 26% are intending to purchase a system or contemplating it.
“We additionally see this reticence play out equally throughout different applied sciences resembling house batteries and electrical autos,” mentioned Ms. Amos-Hampson.
The boundaries to adoption embrace – and no surprises right here:
- Upfront prices.
- Renters and people dwelling in condo buildings unable to.
- Ready, however not keen as a result of a perceived lack of good data – or belief.
On the latter, Ms. Amos-Hampson says “each are likely to amplify doubt and uncertainty and frustrate motion.”
However of the group who don’t have photo voltaic panels, 43% are renters and 61% are below monetary strain. It’s a tough state of affairs – photo voltaic panels will save households cash and alleviate monetary strain. However the up-front prices even with the photo voltaic rebate can nonetheless be too nice a barrier for a lot of to clear. There are numerous methods to finance a solar energy system, however some must be approached with warning – resembling “Purchase Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) photo voltaic preparations.
“Regardless of the motivating forces introduced by the power disaster we are able to see a component of gridlock in terms of adoption of those new applied sciences and measures,” says Ms. Amos-Hampson. “Customers, by way of their lack of motion, are telling us that they want extra help in transferring from curiosity to motion.”
Extra on the most recent ECBS outcomes may be discovered right here, and Ms. Amos-Hampson’s interpretation of the findings right here.
