Kiwis Choose Blankets over Heating Bills

Kiwis Choose Blankets over Heating Bills

44% of New Zealanders opt for blankets and extra clothes over increasing the heating

Auckland, 29 April 2016 – New Zealanders would rather battle the cold with a blanket or add extra clothing layers than increase their heating bill according to the results of the latest Canstar Blue survey.

Close to half of the women surveyed relied on blankets and extra clothes to keep warm in their homes in winter compared to 38% of men.

The cost of heating is a major factor for Kiwis, especially when it comes to electricity-related behaviour change, says Canstar New Zealand General Manager, Jose George.

“More than 60% of New Zealanders have altered their electricity habits, and of those 57% have done so in order to reduce the cost of their bill.”

Close to a quarter (22%) believe that their homes are not insulated properly, with 26% of Generation Ys unhappy with the state of their homes’ ability to hold heat, compared to 15% of Baby Boomers.

“Having a poorly insulated home is a quick way to lose money as any heat that you pump in to the house will be lost through cracks, ceilings, walls and floors. Check the EnergyWise website for more tips on keeping warm in the winter.”

Annoying flatmate habits

The irksome nature of leaving lights on is getting worse for Kiwis in shared living situations. In 2015, New Zealanders ranked excessive energy use as the number one argument between flatmates at 15% and leaving lights on as a close second at 13%. This year “light fights” was an issue for 19% of respondents.

Not switching off the lights when you leave the room has made its way up the ranks of annoying flatmate behaviours. This pet peeve is closely followed by long showers (18%) which are putting some flatmates in hot water.

More women (20%) than men (15%) have had arguments about the length of showers in a shared house while men’s tempers rise more for excessive energy use (17%) than women’s do (15%.)

Switch it off to save money (and your life)

More than a third (35%) of Kiwis remember to always switch appliances off at the wall when they leave home.

While this is pleasing to see, nearly two thirds of New Zealanders are not switching appliances off at the wall, meaning that their electricity bills, and their fire risk, could be rising, says George.

“The New Zealand Fire Service estimates that 10% of all fires are caused through electrical accidents which means that appliances should always be supervised when in use and when not being used, should be switched off at the wall and unplugged.

“Despite sometimes being a cause of worry for some women, New Zealanders are doing a great job of switching off their hair straighteners when they are done with them with just 2% admitting to forgetting to turn them off.”

Gen X are the worst offenders when it comes to leaving appliances switched on when they leave home (31%).

Your power package

Those in Otago are most likely to have taken on a fixed term contact with their electricity retailer (29%) and are also most likely to pre-purchase power packs each month to save on their electricity bills (9%).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 35% of Kiwis are unsure if they are getting the best deal for their power usage, leading many to check the market, says George.

“Forty two per cent of New Zealanders have compared power prices in the last 12 months, with Wellingtonians (47%) most likely to have the wandering eye when it comes to scoping out the best price.”

Powershop takes out the award for the fifth time

Powershop is this years’ Canstar Blue Consumer Satisfaction Award Winner for the electricity provider’s category, scoring five-stars across the board.

Consumers overwhelming rated value for money as their number one driver of satisfaction, says George.

“Providing value is something that Powershop excels in with the use of their app allowing consumers to take back control of their power bills. The app lets users monitor how much power they are using on a daily basis so they know when they need to cut back.

“This is undoubtedly why they have this year won the award for the fourth year in a row, and five times in total.”

For more information and the full results, please visit: http://www.canstarblue.co.nz/utilities/electricity-providers/

The survey asked respondents to rate the companies across six variables:

1. Value for money

2. Range of plans

3. Customer service

4. Bill clarity

5. Information/advice about using electricity efficiently to save money

6. Overall satisfaction

Electricity habits/attitudes by region: (exceptions only)

Waikato: Those in the Waikato are most likely (equal with Northland) to not know if they are getting the best deal for their power usage (41%).

Wellington: Wellingtonians are most likely to have compared power prices in the last 12 months (47%).

Canterbury: Cantabrians are least likely (equal with Bay of Plenty) to use blankets and extra clothes to keep warm in their houses in the winter instead of increasing the heating (41%), least likely (equal with Northland) to regularly forget to turn their hair straighteners off (0%) and least likely to say that their home is not insulated properly (16%).

Otago: Those in Otago are most likely to have taken on a fixed term contract with their electricity provider (29%) and most likely to pre-purchase power packs each month to save on electricity bills (9%).

Bay of Plenty: Those in the Bay of Plenty are least likely (equal with Canterbury) to use blankets and extra clothes to keep warm in their houses in the winter (41%).

Manawatu/Whanganui: Those in the Manawatu are most likely to use blankets and extra clothes to keep warm in their houses in the winter (52%).

Northland: Those in Northland are least likely (equal with Canterbury) to regularly forget to turn off their hair straighteners (0%), least likely to pre purchase power packs each month (0%) and most likely (equal with Waikato) to not know if they are getting the best deal for their power usage (41%).

Hawke’s Bay: Those in the Hawke’s Bay are least likely to have taken on a fixed term contract with their electricity retailer (11%).

Taranaki: Those in the Taranaki are least likely to always switch appliances off at the wall when they leave the house (29%) and least likely to not know if they are getting the best deal for their power usage (27%).

Southland: Those in Southland are most likely to always switch appliances off at the wall when they leave the house (44%), most likely to regularly forget to turn their hair straighteners off (4%), most likely to say that their home is not insulated properly (34%) and least likely to have compared power prices in the last 12 months (32%).

About the survey

I-view is the region’s leading data collection agency, with over 30 years of experience. It has over 25,000 projects delivered across hundreds of clients since their inception in 1983. I-view is owned by IPSOS, one of the top market research companies in the world, with offices in 87 countries translating to a global presence.

I-view has established strong relationships with panel partners in New Zealand. I-view is accredited to ISO 20252 for Market Opinion and Social Research.

Their reputation for reliability and quality made them a partner of choice for Canstar Blue.

The outcomes reported here are the results from a survey of Kiwis who have an electricity account and pay the bills. In this case there were 2,062 people surveyed.

ENDS

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