Around 25% of Romanians claim maximum savings on energy consumption, study shows

A quarter of the population says that it makes maximum savings on energy consumption, in the context in which almost 90% of Romanians believe that the waste of energy resources contributes to accelerating climate change, according to the largest opinion poll on the perception and behavior of the population regarding the responsible consumption of energy and energy efficiency in buildings, conducted at national level by INSCOP Research under the command of Energy Policy Group (EPG), within the Efficient Romania Project.

For most people, the cost of energy is the main reason for reducing consumption, but a significant percentage also invokes pollution. The respondents were asked to self-evaluate their behavior regarding energy consumption on a scale from 1 to 10, in which note 1 means “I make maximum energy waste”, and note 10 means “I make maximum savings on energy consumption”. Thus, 23% of the respondents scored 10 on fuel consumption and 24% on electricity consumption. Some more, respectively 28%, said that they make maximum savings on the consumption of natural gas and on the consumption of wood. Overall, this means that, on average, only 25.7% of Romanians do everything they can to consume energy as efficiently and responsibly as possible.

However, there is room for improvement in the attitude towards the waste of resources, as the others consider that, although they are economical, they are not always sufficiently careful about the efficiency of consumption. For example, 78.3% of Romanians know that, if they are plugged in, the electronic devices (TV, computer, chargers, etc.) consume electricity even when they are not working or powering a device.

Also, most Romanians do not have smart devices for controlling energy consumption in the home (thermostat, smart switch, smart outlet, etc.). Three out of four Romanians would pay more in the energy bill to reduce pollution although few are making the maximum effort to make energy consumption more efficient, two thirds of Romanians consider the price of electricity to be very important.