Australia’s energy industry is undergoing a period of rapid change, as we collectively strive towards reaching net zero as a nation by 2050. To meet this ambition, it’s critical all Australians have access to the resources and education they need so they can embrace cleaner, energy-efficient solutions now and into the future, and feel in control of their energy use.
We’re excited to share, in partnership with REA Group, we have launched the PropTrack Origin Australian Home Energy Report, analysing the motivations and challenges for Australians to adopt energy-efficient initiatives at home.
What is the PropTrack report?
The report draws on the views of over 4,500 respondents to the realestate.com.au Residential Audience Pulse Survey and information collected from almost 1,500 Origin customers to understand the sentiment of Australian renters and buyers towards energy efficiency.
In this report, we explore attitudes towards energy within Australian homes, alongside the understanding and appetite for embracing the energy transition. Understanding energy, and the future of energy, for Australians has never been more important — especially at a time where cost of living pressure is having a real impact.
Embracing energy efficiency to reduce bills
For homeowners and renters, the energy transition presents different opportunities and challenges with varying abilities to control their energy, with features like solar energy or upgrading to energy efficient appliances. However, there’s a common desire among Australian households to reduce their energy bills.
The majority of renters surveyed for this report place an importance on energy efficiency ratings, with a desire to reduce bills. Amid record-high home and rental prices, 77% of buyers and 72% of renters valued energy efficiency ratings for reducing regular energy bills and managing the cost of living.
Among renters, smart appliances proved to be a popular option to enhance energy efficiency at minimal expense, with a quarter of renters surveyed by Origin owning a smart appliance.
Energy efficiency increased perceived property value
Solar panels, double-glazed windows, and rainwater tanks were the top three home value-adds identified by people, with approximately three quarters admitting they would pay more for a home with solar panels. Unsurprisingly, solar power emerged as a clear favourite for buyers, with almost three quarters of survey respondents identifying they would pay more for a home with solar panels.
A desire to become energy efficient and electrified
The majority of realestate.com.au Residential Audience Pulse Survey respondents (59%) found energy efficiency ratings important when buying, renting, or building a home, to lessen the cost of bills and environmental impact. It’s promising to see that transitioning to all-electric homes sparked interest in 40% of respondents. However, with just 8% actively considering the shift within the next 12 months, there’s a need for more awareness and resources to educate Australians about how they can benefit from home electrification.
Smarter, more efficient ‘homes of the future’
People are becoming more engaged in energy, which has set the stage for energy-efficient features to become more commonplace. In the future, more homes will be electrified – with solar on the roof, a home battery to store unused solar energy, and an EV in the garage that will also act as a battery on wheels.
Our homes will also have more connected smart appliances, that will be able to optimise when they are switched on so they’re using electricity when it’s cleaner and more affordable. Most of the technology that will enable this ‘home of the future’ is here already, and the opportunity is to make sure all households have access to the information and support they need – and the right solutions – to help realise the benefits of this smarter energy future.
