As Australians prepare for another summer, many are planning to manage electricity costs by changing how they live at home rather than looking for a better deal.
New YouGov research finds two in five Australians (40%) plan to wear less clothing at home to reduce their need for air conditioning, while 45% intend to use fans instead of air conditioning and 53% plan to close blinds or curtains during the day to keep their homes cool.
Baby Boomers are leading the summer strip-down, with 52% planning to wear less at home to save on electricity, compared with 36% of Gen Z and 32% of Millennials. Women are also more likely than men to plan to wear less clothing at home (44% versus 35%).
Australians cut back on comfort, but few switch providers
These summer plans come against a backdrop of households already making sacrifices to manage electricity costs. More than two in five Australians (42%) say they have used less heating or cooling than they would have liked in the past 12 months to keep costs down. Baby Boomers are the most likely to have done so (52%), as are women (46% versus 38% of men).
Other common ways of managing electricity costs include switching off at the power point (44%), reminding others to turn off lights or appliances (40%) and using appliances at a cheaper time of day (30%).
While 28% have compared electricity plans or providers in the past year, just 17% have switched. Even among those who say low bills matter most to them, 33% have compared plans, but only 19% have switched providers.
The great air-con escape
For some Australians, keeping cool this summer could mean spending more time away from home. One in three (33%) plan to take advantage of cooler spaces outside the home, whether by spending more time at work, visiting shopping centres or libraries, heading to the beach or pool, or using the air conditioning at friends’ or family members’ homes.
Gen Z are the most likely to plan an air-con escape, with 46% intending to use at least one of these options.
Electricity costs remain difficult to navigate
Nearly two-thirds Australians (63%) say they find it difficult to work out whether their household is getting a good deal on electricity, while 64% say they have little idea how much individual appliances cost to run.
Although two-thirds say they keep a track of their household’s electricity usage, only 19% have checked how much electricity an individual appliance uses. Men are more likely than women to have done so (25% versus 13%), as are Gen Z (at 28%).
Confusion extends to the electricity system itself. Most Australians (70%) credit their electricity distributor with at least one thing it doesn’t do: nearly half (46%) think it generates their electricity, and the same share (46%) think it sends their bill.
Methodology
YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The findings are based on responses from 1045 Australian adults, collected between 15 and 19 October 2026.