The impact of psychological and socio-economic variables on household energy conservation: a case study of Ibadan City, Nigeria

Abstract

Energy conservation at homes has become a topical issue among policy makers and researchers. This is borne out of the fact that household energy demand constitutes a large portion of the total energy demand in most countries. In Nigeria, the sector accounts for 40% of the total energy demand. Leaning upon the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study examines the relationship that exists between energy conservation and psychological variables on one hand and household socio-demographic characteristics on the other hand. Structural equation model was used to model the path diagram of the relationship that exists between the two domains (psychological and socio-demographic variables). Results show that Psychological variables were strongly related to energy conservation while the socio-demographic variables were insignificant in influencing energy conservation.