- Title
- Mediating transition to household electricity conservation through co-designing in Makhanda, South Africa
- Creator
- Mutumbi, Uzziah
- ThesisAdvisor
- Thondhlana, Gladman
- ThesisAdvisor
- Ruwanza, Sheunesu
- Subject
- Households Energy consumption South Africa Makhanda
- Subject
- Renewable energy sources South Africa
- Subject
- Consumer behavior South Africa Makhanda
- Subject
- Energy conservation South Africa Makhanda Citizen participation
- Subject
- Low-income consumers South Africa Makhanda
- Date
- 2022-04-06
- Type
- Academic theses
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/291262
- Identifier
- vital:56838
- Description
- Households consume up to 20% of total global electricity consumption, hence they are important role players in efforts for promoting sustainable consumption. Research on electricity-use behaviour and effectiveness of interventions is important for informing intervention strategies. However, relative to developed countries, research on this subject is lacking in developing countries, where electricity access is limited, and a substantial proportion of households are energy poor. The main goal of this study was to examine reported electricity-use behaviour and the effects of co-designed interventions on household electricity consumption in low-income households in Makhanda, South Africa, using a field-based experiment. Findings from self-reported electricity-use practices showed mixed results, with households reporting both good electricity-use behaviour (e.g., cooling down hot food before refrigeration) and wasteful actions (e.g., leaving appliances on standby). Results showed that electricity-use behaviour was influenced by socio-psychological values including universalism, benevolence, hedonism, and power. Over the intervention period, households exposed to co-designed electricity-saving interventions showed mean electricity savings of about 5.5%, while households in the Partial Treatment and Control group showed increased electricity consumption. Socio-demographic factors such as age and psychological factors (involvement and perceived behavioural control) were very important determinants of household consumption. Broadly, the findings empirically validate the impact of collective problem formulation and co-designing interventions in promoting sustainable actions.
- Description
- Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2022
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (79 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Science, Environmental Science
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Mutumbi, Uzziah
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike" License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | MUTUMBI-MSC-TR22-109.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |