Solar energy not only for the rich, survey suggests
4th Sep 2012
How much you earn apparently has very little to do with how likely you are to have solar panels installed.
A new survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that while income failed to be a factor in many cases, there are other social circumstances to consider.
According to the ABS data, house location threw up some interesting numbers to analyse, while the age of a property and whether it is owned or rented also revealed patterns.
For example, the research showed there are twice as many people with solar power systems living in the countryside than there are in Melbourne.
And even those that did have solar panels on their roofs in the city tended to reside on the outskirts - namely the outer western, outer eastern and Mornington Peninsula regions.
Individuals who bought their houses are also more likely to possess solar power, with 94 per cent of all the state's systems in owner-occupied dwellings, with homeowners making up over 70 per cent of Victoria's households.
Last month, Green Energy Markets revised upwards its predictions for solar PV installations in 2012, with the organisation saying more and more people are being enticed in by generous government schemes.
Posted by Mike Peacock
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Solar Power