OT_026: EECA Consumer Energy Monitor Q3 FY25 (June 2025)

Source

Source

EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). Consumer Energy Monitor Q3 FY25. Released June 2025. Quarterly online survey of NZ adults aged 18+. Q3 FY25 fieldwork: 19 January 2025 – 22 March 2025. n=758 (this quarter), n=2,308 (FY25 cumulative across Q1+Q2+Q3 ending March 2025). Margin of error ±3.8% at 95% CI for the single quarter. Nationally representative by age, gender and region.

License: not explicitly stated on the deck; EECA materials are typically CC BY 4.0 for non-commercial reuse. Confirm before reproduction beyond research citation.

Scope and structure

  • 18-page slide deck (cover + Background + Methodology + Executive Summary + “This report” + 8-action savings table + 2 awareness/uptake slides + 4 sub-group analysis chapter (2 slides per sub-group × 4 sub-groups) + closing slide)
  • Quantitative behavioural data on 8 named energy efficiency actions
  • Off-peak pricing plan penetration + appliance-level off-peak shifting
  • 4 pre-identified sub-groups with significance-marked differences vs total population

Relevance to NI and thesis

NI (residential demand-side parameters):

  • The 8-action savings table (key_claim 2) is the canonical NZ-government quantification of household efficiency potential — feeds the NI energy skill’s pre-vs-post-efficiency household load assumptions
  • Off-peak plan penetration (32%) + appliance-level shifting rates (key_claim 7) feed realistic DR participation modelling for PV+BESS sizing — avoid assuming higher off-peak shifting than the 9% always-doing rate without justification
  • Heat-pump filter cleaning rate (18% always doing) is a discovery: NI heat-pump efficiency assumptions should include filter-fouling derating for ~80% of households
  • Sub-group cuts (especially cold-homes + non-homeowners) inform NI sensitivity bands for Lower Moutere if pilot demographics tilt that way

Thesis (behavioural / community-design argument):

  • Counter-intuitive finding (key_claim 8) — higher bills correlate with lower efficiency behaviour — anchors the argument that financial signal alone does not drive efficient action; community-scale governance / coordination / collective infrastructure are required
  • Non-homeowner under-investment (key_claim 11) is direct evidence for the landlord-tenant split-incentive problem at NZ national scale — supports the community-housing-model argument that ownership structure shapes investment behaviour
  • Households with children pattern (key_claim 10) — high engagement with financial mechanisms, lower behavioural action — supports time-poverty as a structural determinant of efficiency uptake

Cross-validation with RD_007:

  • Bundled savings potential ~2,595 kWh / hh / yr (OT_026) vs ~6,790 kWh/hh/yr current residential electricity (RD_007) = ~38% theoretical electricity reduction ceiling if every household adopts every action. This is the upper-bound for the demand-side argument; realistic uptake will be a fraction of this.
  • Hot water cylinder appears in both: RD_007 confirms it’s 27% of residential electricity; OT_026 confirms only 26% of off-peak users actually shift it — material untapped shifting potential.

Research targets

Documents to retrieve

  • RT_128 (medium) — EECA Consumer Energy Monitor Q4 FY25 + future quarters. Quarterly cumulative series; FY26 sample will refresh the sub-group percentages. Monitor at eeca.govt.nz/insights/.
  • RT_129 (low) — Underlying microdata access. EECA may release SPSS / Stata / CSV microdata via direct request; would enable Tasman / Nelson-Marlborough regional sub-cut not present in the published deck. Worth requesting only if the regional cut becomes load-bearing for NI.

Connections

Links to

Sources (1): RD_007

Referenced by