Electricity savings and consumers’ behaviours towards electricty consumption

Abstract

Electricity consumption is one of the main issues that Malaysian is facing currently especially during pandemic disease where people worked from home and many household appliances were used. High electricity usage will cause more sources to be generated and increase tariff rate because the provider needs to bear operational costs to provide the services. Hence, consumers need to lessen electricity consumption in order to have electricity savings and many electricity reserves in future. This study was conducted to investigate the pattern and consumers’ behaviors towards electricity consumption in Malaysia using questionnaires as the research instruments. This study found that 89.7% of respondents were aware of electricity usage and savings. This can be proven by the respondents’ behaviours towards electricity consumption where more than 50% avoided using heated household appliances. Nevertheless, air conditioners usage was very high (84.6%) that caused excessive electricity bills. The monthly electricity bills for low-income earners can reached up to 20% of their monthly income and this will possibly cause financial difficulties for basic needs. 65.4% of the respondents claimed that they are the electricity savers in the house, followed by the spouse (29.5%). Energy efficiency (65.4%), quality and price (65.3%), brand (60.3%) and design and appearance (59.7%) were the characteristics that the respondents were looking at when they purchased the household appliances. These characteristics indicated the positive behaviours towards electricity savings in the long term. 76% of the respondents were aware of solar panel that can be more likely to reduce electricity bills but high amount of installment obstructed them from using it. The implications are important for household manufacturers, energy and solar panel providers and individuals.