{"id":894,"date":"2019-07-25T10:30:43","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T10:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=894"},"modified":"2019-07-25T10:36:35","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T10:36:35","slug":"shoppers-cant-afford-energy-efficient-cars-homes-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/894\/shoppers-cant-afford-energy-efficient-cars-homes-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoppers \u2018can\u2019t afford\u2019 energy efficient cars, homes – researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by: Alex Whiting<\/p>\n

Europeans can slash their fuel bills and have a significant impact on curbing global greenhouse gas emissions by buying more energy efficient cars, homes or even fridges \u2013 but many do not because of higher initial cost of green products, mistrust in EU energy ratings, and lack of awareness of long-term savings, researchers say.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Less than 2% of properties sold in Ireland between January 2017 and October 2018 were A rated \u2013 the highest energy efficient rating for homes \u2013 despite many technologies available to upgrade homes.<\/p>\n

And just 11% of dishwashers and 14% of fridges sold in 2018 in Spain were of the highest A+++ energy rating for appliances. The findings come from a project called\u00a0CONSEED<\/a><\/u>, which investigates what encourages people to buy energy efficient appliances, houses and cars.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are all these products on the market, but \u2026 people are not buying them to the extent that they should,\u2019 said Eleanor Denny, associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and coordinator of CONSEED.<\/p>\n

Researchers have been trying to find out why people do not opt for the greener products.<\/p>\n

\u2018The main reason is that (consumers) can\u2019t afford them. For the most part the more energy efficient product is more expensive,\u2019 Prof. Denny said.<\/p>\n

In a consumer survey carried out by CONSEED across five countries (Greece, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia), up to 74% of the 3,000 respondents said they could not afford more efficient cars or appliances, or the costs of upgrading their homes.<\/p>\n

Lack of trust was another major factor, with 60% of people believing that sellers of cars, properties and household appliances are manipulating the energy efficiency information they provide.<\/p>\n

The researchers said this may be a legacy of \u2018dieselgate\u2019, a 2015\u00a0scandal<\/a>\u00a0over diesel car makers cheating emission tests.<\/p>\n

Dieselgate had a \u2018huge impact\u2019, said Ibon Galarraga, research professor at the Basque Center for Climate Change, Spain, who leads part of CONSEED\u2019s field research. \u2018Suddenly there is this mistrust on how producers declare their emissions or the environmental impacts of the energy efficiency.\u2019<\/p>\n

Buy well<\/strong><\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s\u00a0energy consumption is increasing<\/a>, so it is \u2018extremely important\u2019 that people buy well, said Prof. Galarraga. \u2018Energy efficiency is one of the easiest ways of saving energy, it\u2019s one of the most efficient ways of doing it and it\u2019s one of the cheapest ways,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Households make up\u00a0around a quarter<\/a>\u00a0of Europe\u2019s total energy consumption and produce\u00a0a fifth<\/a>\u00a0of the EU\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

Switching to more efficient domestic appliances can not only help cut emissions but also save consumers hundreds of euros a year in energy bills, according to the\u00a0European Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To help people make better informed purchasing decisions, the EU is simplifying its energy efficiency\u00a0labelling scheme<\/a>\u00a0by introducing a scale that runs from A to G rather than A+++ to G. The new labels will also include QR codes which people can scan to get more information about the products\u2019 energy use.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hopefully that\u2019ll provide more transparency and let people have more trust in those labels,\u2019 said Prof. Denny.<\/p>\n

CONSEED researchers are also recommending that the EU includes a way for customers to report their experiences in a new product registration database. So if, for example, someone feels they are not getting the kilometres per litre of petrol stated on the energy label, they can report it and \u2018the EC can start to challenge manufacturers on the information they are providing as the basis for these labels\u2019, Prof. Denny said.<\/p>\n

Consumers also should be told how much a particular house or car costs to run, she added. \u2018Providing this sort of information \u2026 encourages people to invest in more energy efficient properties and cars.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nudging<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nudging people with clear labelling and information is important but it does not go far enough, said Massimo Tavoni, professor of climate change economics at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, who leads a project called\u00a0COBHAM<\/a>. He has been researching how people\u2019s decisions regarding climate-friendly actions can be influenced by policies and information.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nudges are easy politically \u2026 but we should not be under any illusion that they can solve a problem which is as serious as climate change,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Governments should not shy away from traditional policy interventions essentially that increase the cost of the bad products and reduce the costs of clean products,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n

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‘Nudges are easy politically \u2026 but we should not be under any illusion that they can solve a problem which is as serious as climate change.’<\/p>\n

-Prof. Massimo Tavoni, Politecnico di Milano, Italy<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Incentives<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Norway, the government has introduced financial incentives for electric vehicles and high taxes for polluting ones to increase demand for low-emission vehicles.<\/p>\n

When CONSEED researchers were testing the impact of giving car buyers in Norway extra information on energy saving, they found the demand for electric cars was already so great that dealers had run out of cars to sell.<\/p>\n

The car industry in Britain has blamed a recent drop in sales of low-emission vehicles on \u2018confusing\u2019 policies and the UK government\u2019s decision to end or reduce subsidies.<\/p>\n

\u2018If we are to see widespread uptake of these vehicles, which are an essential part of a smooth transition to zero-emission transport, we need world-class, long-term incentives,\u2019 the\u00a0Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders<\/a>\u00a0said in June.<\/p>\n

It is vital that government climate policies do not increase social inequalities, the researchers say.<\/p>\n

Government subsidies or other financial incentives are particularly important for the poorest who have the most to gain from energy efficient products, but are least able to afford them, says Prof. Tavoni.<\/p>\n

CONSEED say banks could offer low cost financing for people to make their homes more energy efficient \u2013 by installing more efficient boilers, solar panels, insulating homes, or changing windows for example.<\/p>\n

\u2018It increases the value of the property \u2026 because it\u2019s cheaper to run and also it\u2019s more comfortable. If your house is better insulated, it\u2019s warmer, it has knock on health benefits,\u2019 said Prof. Denny.<\/p>\n

Habits<\/strong><\/p>\n

An important step to changing people\u2019s habits is to help them take control of their energy use by producing understandable fuel bills and putting meters in homes that help people better monitor their energy usage, said Prof. Galarraga.<\/p>\n

EU countries have committed to rolling out\u00a0nearly 200 million smart meters<\/a>\u00a0for electricity and 45 million for gas by 2020.<\/p>\n

Seeing how much each appliance is consuming in real time \u2018will make a huge difference in your behaviour\u2019, said Prof. Galarraga.<\/p>\n

People can make a big impact on energy use with small changes like putting the lid on a saucepan when heating water, or using the right-sized electric plate, he added.<\/p>\n

Prof. Tavoni also stressed that it is up to each individual to reduce their carbon footprint. \u2018We typically blame governments for not doing enough, but it\u2019s also up to us to do something.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by: Alex Whiting Europeans can slash their fuel bills and have a significant impact on curbing global greenhouse gas emissions by buying more energy efficient cars, homes or even fridges \u2013 but many do not because of higher initial cost of green products, mistrust in EU energy ratings, and lack of awareness of long-term savings, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":895,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,121],"tags":[40,4,169,88,24],"class_list":["post-894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","category-policy","tag-energy","tag-environment","tag-frontier-research","tag-policy","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nShoppers \u2018can\u2019t afford\u2019 energy efficient cars, homes - researchers - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/894\/shoppers-cant-afford-energy-efficient-cars-homes-researchers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shoppers \u2018can\u2019t afford\u2019 energy efficient cars, homes - researchers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by: Alex Whiting Europeans can slash their fuel bills and have a significant impact on curbing global greenhouse gas emissions by buying more energy efficient cars, homes or even fridges \u2013 but many do not because of higher initial cost of green products, mistrust in EU energy ratings, and lack of awareness of long-term savings, ... 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