Understanding the Key Determinants of Residential Firewood Consumption in Australia: A Nationwide Household Survey

Abstract

A range of energy sources are used by households across the globe, including electricity, gas, solar, and wood. While there is a large body of international research aimed at understanding household energy use in general, very few studies have focused on the specific topic of residential firewood consumption. In Australia, empirical research to investigate and quantify residential firewood consumption is scarce and outdated, despite the importance of such research for better understanding overall household energy costs and carbon emissions. Unlike other power sources, such as electricity, gas and solar, firewood consumption is not systematically monitored or measured in an objective way, thereby making it difficult to obtain accurate data on the amount of firewood consumed in the residential sector. To address this data gap, the current study used survey data from a sample of 4844 households (including 1168 firewood users) to explore what socio-demographic, dwelling-related and behavioural factors were important for predicting the amount of firewood consumed by Australian households. The results revealed that a range of variables—including geographical location, dwelling type, the number of wood-fired appliances per household, and behavioural factors such as the purpose, timing, frequency, and duration of firewood use—were key determinants of residential firewood consumption in Australia, as self-reported by households. Together, these findings underscore the value of measuring not only geographical and location-based factors in household surveys, but also a range of socio-demographic, dwelling-related, and behavioural variables. By doing so, self-report data collected through surveys is likely to better predict the amount of residential firewood consumption reported (or estimated) by households. Overall, this study makes an important and timely contribution to the literature by demonstrating how social science methods such as household surveys can help improve current estimates of residential firewood consumption used to inform government policy, planning, and decision-making for the future.