Page 3530 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 October 2022

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Ginninderra electorate—wood heater survey
(Question No 944)

Mrs Kikkert asked the Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction, upon notice, on 14 October 2022:

(1) In relation to the wood fire heating survey referenced during question time on 12 October 2022, how many respondents were from the Ginninderra electorate.

(2) Can the Minister provide a breakdown of the responses given by respondents living in Ginninderra.

Ms Vassarotti: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

1) 464 respondents were from the Ginninderra electorate

2) A summary of results from this cohort is as follows (data is unweighted):

Wood heater ownership and use

The majority of respondents do not have a wood heater in their home (86%), 6% say a wood heater is their main source of heating, 6% use one infrequently and 2% have one but never use it.

Among wood heater owners, 28% installed this themselves, 20% upgraded the wood heater in their home, 47% say it was already installed when they moved in/purchased the home and 2% say someone else installed the wood heater (e.g. landlord).

Views on wood heaters

Perspectives on whether wood heaters are a cheap/low-cost heating source are split. 32% of all respondents agree that they are a cheap/low cost source, 31% disagree, 23% are neutral and 14% cannot say.

The majority of respondents (70%) believe wood heaters produce a unique type of heating/warmth while 12% disagree and 11% are neutral.

55% of all respondents enjoy using wood heaters/find them enjoyable while 24% disagree and 13% are neutral.

Steps taken to reduce smoke/remove wood heater

The majority of wood heater owners say they take some steps in relation to their heater use with 84% using only dry, well-seasoned, treated wood, 81% using plenty of kindling to start a hot fire quickly and 78% having the air control fully open when starting a fire.

5% of wood heater owners are planning to replace or remove their wood heater in the next 12 months, while 34% say they are interested or considering it but not in the next 12 months, and 56% say they would never remove or replace their wood heater.

Among those saying they would never replace or remove their wood heater, the main reasons given for this were liking the warmth and ambience of a wood fire (70%), feeling that other forms of heating are more expensive (30%), and only using the heater infrequently/on special occasions (28%).


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