Scottish house condition survey 2016: key findings

5 Energy Perceptions

• Nearly a fifth of households find that their heating keeps them warm in winter only sometimes (14%) or never (4%). This is a reduction of 5 percentage points from 2015.
• 4% of households report that their homes were difficult to heat because they cannot afford to heat them, down from 6% in the previous year.
• Fuel poor households are more likely to have difficulties staying warm in winter and to report affordability problems; 23% of fuel poor say that their heating keeps them warm in winter "only sometimes" (16%) or "never" (6%), compared to 16% of all other households. This pattern is similar to 2015 although the overall levels are lower. 6% of fuel poor households report that they cannot afford to heat their home.
• The extent to which home energy use is monitored by householders remains unchanged since last year with 56% stating they monitor their energy use "very" or "fairly closely".
• 10% of households report owning an energy monitoring device – a 2 percentage point increase on the previous year. Fuel poor households are no more likely to monitor their energy use than other households but they are less likely to own a monitoring device (6% compared to 11% for non-fuel poor households).

5.1 Heating Satisfaction

189. Respondents' views on their ability to keep warm in the winter and why this may be difficult is a useful context for understanding statistics on fuel poverty and energy efficiency in the home.

190. In 2016, 80% of householders reported that they were able to stay warm at home during the winter ( Figure 23). This is an increase of 5 percentage points from 2015; 14% said that their heating keeps them warm only sometimes, a reduction from 18% in the previous year; and 4% report that their heating systems never keep them warm in winter, which is similar to 2015.

191. Of those reporting that their heating system keeps them warm in winter "only sometimes" or "never", 25% report this to be "a serious problem", 49% "a bit of a problem", while 27% said it was "not very much" or "not a problem". This distribution is similar to the results from the 2015 survey.

192. As shown in Figure 23 this means that, out of households who found their heating does not keep them warm in winter, 4% reported this to be "a serious problem" which is a similar level to 2015, and 9% said it was "a bit of a problem" which is a decrease of 3 percentage points from 11% in 2015.

Figure 25: Staying Warm in Winter, 2016

Figure 26: "Does Your Heating Keep You Warm Enough in the Winter?" by Household Type, Tenure and Primary Heating Fuel; SHCS 2016

Note: Dashed lines represent the Scotland levels shown in Figure 23 .

193. Figure 24 shows respondents' views on how well their heating systems keep them warm in winter vary depending on household ( HH) type, tenure and the primary heating fuel they use.

194. Pensioner households are less likely than other household types to report that their heating system doesn't always keep them warm in the winter; 13%, compared with 22% of families and 19% of other households.

195. Householders with electric heating have high propensity to report that their heating systems does not keep them warm in the winter (32%).

196. Social and private renters also have increased likelihood to report that their heating does not always keep them warm compared to owner occupiers. For social sector tenants this is in contrast to the relatively better energy efficiency of the dwellings they occupy compared to the housing stock overall (as shown in Table 19).

197. Figure 25 shows how the proportion of householders reporting that their heating does not always keep them warm has changed over time, allowing for the margin of error. The results indicate that in 2016 there was a significant decrease in this proportion, down to 18%, which is the lowest level since 2007.

Figure 27: "Does Your Heating Keep You Warm Enough in the Winter?", Proportion 'Sometimes' or 'Never Warm', 2004-2016

198. The reasons why people find their homes difficult to heat are shown in Figure 26 and Table 39. The most common reasons relate to poor energy performance of the dwellings: poor heating systems and draughts (14% and 13% respectively) followed by insulation and windows (8% and 7%). About 4% of all surveyed householders consider it unaffordable to achieve the indoor temperatures they want. This is higher among private and social renters (7% each) compared to owner occupiers (3%). On the whole private rented and social sector tenants are more likely than owner occupiers to report difficulties. 67% of all interviewed households did not report any problems heating their homes.

Figure 28: Reasons Heating Home is Difficult by Tenure, 2016 (% of households)

Note: responses have been grouped by theme, as described in section 7.8.5. More than one answer allowed so that the sum of responses can exceed 100%.

Table 39: Reasons Heating Home is Difficult by Tenure, 2016 (% of households)

	Owner occupied	Private rented	Social sector	All Tenures
None reported	71%	57%	64%	67%
Poor or inadequate heating	12%	20%	17%	14%
Draughty	9%	17%	18%	13%
Poor insulation	8%	12%	8%	8%
Need new windows	6%	11%	7%	7%
Can't afford to heat house	3%	7%	7%	4%
Hard to control heating	3%	4%	4%	3%
Rooms too big	2%	3%	0%	2%
Other	1%	1%	0%	1%
Sample size	1,790	344	716	2,850

Note: Respondents are permitted to select more than one response. For this reason the sum down a column can exceed 100%

199. Table 40 shows how fuel poor and non-fuel poor households compare in their views on winter heating and heating affordability. Fuel poor households are more likely to report that their heating keeps them warm in winter "only sometimes" or "never", 23% (down from 27% in 2015) compared to 16% of non-fuel poor households (down from 21% in 2015). For 16% of fuel poor households this is "a serious" or "a bit of a problem", higher than 12% for households who are not fuel poor.

Table 40: Staying Warm and Fuel Poverty, 2016 (% of households)

	Not Fuel Poor		Fuel Poor
During the winter months, do you generally find that your heating keeps you warm enough at home, or not?
Yes, always	82%		76%
Only some of the time	13%		16%
No, never	3%		7%
Don't know	2%		2%
How much of a problem is this, if at all, to you?
A serious problem	4%		7%
A bit of a problem	8%		10%
Affordability
Cannot afford to heat house	4%		6%
Sample size		1,979		806

200. Fuel poor households are also more likely to report affordability problems. When asked about the reasons why they find it difficult to keep their home warm, 6% of fuel poor households say "cannot afford to heat my home" down from 9% in 2015. The proportion of non-fuel poor households who give this answer is 4%.

5.2 Monitoring Energy Use

201. Since 2008 the SHCS has asked respondents to what extent they monitor their energy use and whether or not they have energy monitoring devices.

202. The proportion of households who do not monitor their energy use has fallen from 31% in 2008 to 22% in 2012 and has remained around that level since (20-22%). In 2016 20% of respondents were not monitoring their energy use ( Table 41).

203. At the same time the proportion of those who report monitoring their energy use "fairly" or "very closely" followed a similar pattern of improvement. As shown in Table 41, the proportion increased from 44% in 2008 to 54% in 2012 and has remained around that level since (54-57%), at 56% in 2016.

Table 41: Extent to which Energy Use is Monitored, 2008-2016 (% of households)

Extent Energy Use is Monitored…	Year
	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008
Very closely	18%	16%	16%	17%	16%	14%	12%	13%	11%
Fairly closely	38%	41%	37%	38%	38%	33%	33%	34%	33%
Subtotal: Very or fairly closely	56%	57%	54%	56%	54%	47%	45%	47%	44%
Not very closely	23%	22%	24%	24%	24%	22%	23%	25%	24%
Not at all	20%	22%	22%	20%	22%	30%	32%	28%	31%
Don't know	1%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Sample size	2,441	2,492	2,682	3,442	3,428	3,949	3,853	4,153	3,762

204. In 2016 10% of households had energy monitoring devices, as shown in Table 42. This is the first statistically significant increase, of 2 percentage points, for the last five years.

Table 42: Households with Energy Use Monitoring Devices, 2008-2016

	% of households	Sample Size
2016	10%	2,441
2015	8%	2,492
2014	7%	2,682
2013	8%	3,442
2012	8%	3,428
2011	7%	3,949
2010	4%	3,853
2009	2%	4,153
2008	2%	3,762

205. Table 43 shows that fuel poor households are similar to others in the way they monitor their energy use: 57% report monitoring "very" or "fairly closely" compared to 56% of households who are not fuel poor. However they are less likely to have monitoring devices at home: 6% of fuel poor households compared to 11% of all other households. The rate for non-fuel poor households increased by 3 percentage points between 2015 and 2016.

Table 43: Monitoring Energy Use and Fuel Poverty, 2016 (% of households)

	Not Fuel Poor		Fuel Poor
To what extent do you monitor your use of energy in your property?
Very closely	17%		19%
Fairly closely	39%		37%
Not very closely	24%		20%
Not at all	19%		22%
Don't know	*		*
Do you have an energy-use monitoring device in your home?
Yes	11%		6%
Sample Size		1,979		806