Drive to End Ignorance on Energy Amongst Public and Professionals
How much do you know about energy? Seriously, if we're going to do the right thing for the climate – and save money on energy bills – we need an energy-literate population, and, according to a new poll, we're not there yet. So in the UK a new drive has begun to achieve this, and your help is needed.
Dr Kerry Mashford (right), CEO, National Energy Foundation wants a national drive to increase understanding of energy use reduction.
The poll finds that although three in five British adults (58%) say they feel well-informed about energy issues, the same proportion (59%) also aren't aware that the majority of the UK's electricity supply comes from fossil fuels.
And under a quarter (23%) of British adults were able to identify what policy that scientists say is the fastest and most effective way of meeting our energy needs (using less energy) by reducing energy demand and improving energy efficiency. Only half (50%) of those surveyed correctly identified which type of light bulb uses the least energy (LEDs).
35% incorrectly thought that low voltage halogen lights use the least, when actually they use around eight times as much energy than LEDs, which also last much longer.
The survey also found:
- only just over one in ten (11%) adults say that they know how much energy their workplace uses;
- eight out of ten believe that private employers (79%) and the government (76%) should provide training and education to teach the public to use energy more efficiently;
- six in ten (57%) believe that technology will solve our energy problems;
- 81% say they would like to reduce their energy consumption in order to reduce the cost of energy they use, while 70% say they would like to do so in order to lessen their impact on the environment;
- but half of these (32%) said they didn't feel confident they knew enough to do so.
The National Energy Foundation organised this nationally representative survey of 2,058 British adults conducted by ComRes. CEO Kerry Mashfield said the results "confirm that action needs to be taken to inform and empower individuals and organisations. Improving the use of energy in buildings is the National Energy Foundation's overarching objective. We want to get people to reduce energy consumption, improve energy security and reduce fuel poverty."
The NEF is therefore launching a programme to improve energy literacy, and Kerry is actively seeking ideas on how to do this. In her invitation, she said: "With 46% of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions coming from buildings, practical examples show that at least 20% of the energy used in a typical building can be saved through low and no-cost improvements!"
Yet, despite good intentions: "Newly constructed buildings typically use between 2.5 and 4.5 times as much energy as predicted – a phenomenon now being called the 'performance gap'." She said that there was a lot of ignorance and confusion about this, even amongst people who should know better: "many do not know where to start, what to do, or even that such a problem exists".
"We need to increase energy literacy across the UK so that everyone is empowered to ask the right questions, make better decisions and to understand the energy implications of their actions," she said.
It's a tough call, since for the last several decades we have come to take the easy availability of energy for granted, and "even though 4 out of 5 say they want to reduce their energy consumption, for many, the bar is still too high, the barriers outweigh the benefits and individuals fail to act", she added.
Two projects the NEF is embarking on to achieve this are:
- helping charities to reduce energy use in their buildings so they can then spend more of their money on their core activity;
- boosting the Superhomes programme, which opens energy efficient homes to the public so they can see what works.
They're also looking to create a video channel on energy efficiency and a 'mystery shopper' scheme on energy efficiency. More info here.
Interestingly, when asked: "Which of the following do you think scientists say is the fastest and most effective way to address our energy needs?" –
- 29% said generate more energy from renewable energy
- 23% said use less energy
- 23% said build more nuclear power stations
- 18% said fracking.
Of course, using less energy is fast and effective, and building some renewable energy sources is faster than building a nuclear power station, but the full answer would be complex.
I wonder how this level of knowledge compares to other countries?