Identifying the determinants of residential electricity consumption for social housing in Perth, Western Australia

The residential sector contributes significantly to the overall energy consumption in Australia. A survey was undertaken to provide an indication of the determinants of electricity consumption in Perth Social Housing in Western Australia. The household survey provided a range of information about a number of building and occupant-related factors, including floor area, household size, disposable household income, occupancy hours, Head of Household (HoH) gender, presence of children in the households and occupants' window opening behaviour that may influence the consumption in the dwellings. Outcomes of the research revealed that the floor area, household size, disposable household income and HoH gender are significant in explaining the variation in electricity consumption of the sample households. Other factors such as the presence of children in the household and window opening behaviour of the building users, however, did not precisely explain the changes in the households' electricity usage. It is concluded that further studies into the determinants discussed in this paper are required to support the findings and gain a better understanding of the impact of these factors on electricity consumption in Western Australia (WA).