世論 What Japan Thinks

With summer fast approaching and the Meteorological Agency predicting it will be a hotter than average summer over most of the country, let’s take a look at a recent survey by DIMSDRIVE Research regarding air conditioners

Demographics

Between the 18th and 26 of April 2007 DIMSDRIVE Research received 8,925 valid replies to a private internet-based questionnaire circulated around members of its monitor panel. 54.5% of the sample was female, 0.8% in their teens, 13.4% in their twenties, 35.8% in their thirties, 30.2% in their forties, 14.3% in their fifties, and 5.5% aged sixty or older. As a bonus demographic fact, 27.3% of the sample had a pet.

My current domicile is cooled mostly by Daikin air conditioners, which I wouldn’t really recommend to anyone, but we ended up being sort-of stuck with them. My previous residence was all National/Panasonic, which are very good. However, I have on reliable authority that the cleaning robots inside some of the newer models are very noisy, and it was my experience that unless you are a smoker or live close to a busy road, cleaning is not really that bothersome.

Note that in Q5, according to the Cool Biz and Warm Biz initiatives you should set your heating to 20 degrees Celcius in the winter and 28 degrees Celcius in the summer. Barely one in five during the summer and perhaps the similar amount in the winter follow this advice.

As a side note on the usage of drum-type washing machines, I suggested to my Japanese wife that our next washing machine be a drum type as they use less water, but she said she’d lose the ability to wash blankets and other large items.

Survey results

Q1: Which of the following home electrical goods do you use? (Sample size=8,925, multiple answer)

PC	96.7%
Air conditioner	87.1%
Water purifier	34.4%
Dishwasher	24.2%
Cyclone-type vacuum cleaner	20.6%
Drum-type washing machine	13.2%
Plasma television	7.2%
None of the above	0.8%

Note that since this is an internet-based survey, it would be expected that most respondents would have a computer at home. Note also that the low figure for drum-type washing machines (horizontal or at an angle) is due to the popularity of the vertical single-tub type, many of which are as fully automatic and fully featured as the standard drum type most people in the west would be familiar with. Finally, although a previous survey indicated about 44% of homes had water purifiers, this survey is asking in particular about electric-powered filters, and comparing the data with the previous survey it looks as if many people here are incorrectly reporting passive purifiers as electrically powered.

Now, back to air conditioners.

Q2: What type is the air conditioner you use the most at home? (Sample size=7,778)

Wall-mounted	93.1%
Built-in to wall or ceiling	4.6%
Window-mounted	1.3%
Free-standing	0.5%
Corner type	0.4%
Other	0.1%

Q3: Who is the maker of the air conditioner you use the most at home? (Sample size=7,778)

National (Panasonic)	18.7%
Mitsubishi Electrical	13.8%
Toshiba	12.2%
Daikin	11.3%
Hitachi	9.8%
Sharp	7.1%
Fujitsu	7.0%
Sanyo	5.8%
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	2.8%
Corona	2.3%
Other	2.0%
Don’t know	7.2%

Q4: During the following seasons, on average for how long per day do you use air conditioning at home? (Sample size=7,778)

	Summer	Winter
Up to two hours	11.7%	16.2%
Up to four hours	20.1%	11.7%
Up to six hours	22.6%	9.4%
Up to eight hours	17.2%	7.2%
Up to twelve hours	14.0%	5.3%
Up to eighteen hours	7.1%	2.5%
Up to twenty-four hours	3.4%	1.1%
Forgotton, don’t use during that season	3.9%	46.6%

Q5: During the following seasons, on average at what temperature do you set you air conditioner at home? (Sample size=7,778)

	Summer	Winter
18 degrees or less	3.6%	2.2%
19 to 20 degrees	8.9%	7.5%
21 to 22 degrees	13.8%	11.7%
23 to 24 degrees	23.5%	12.9%
25 to 26 degrees	26.7%	12.9%
27 to 28 degrees	19.0%	6.9%
29 degrees or more	1.3%	1.4%
Cannot set temperature	0.3%	0.2%
Forgotton, don’t use during that season	2.9%	44.3%

Note that in winter people may use electric, gas or kerosene heaters, or even underfloor heaters for warmth, as air conditioners are not very good at heating and have a reputation for being very expensive.

Q6: About how often do you clean your air conditioner filters? (Sample size=7,778)

Once a week or more	2.8%
Two or three times a month	10.1%
Once a month	19.6%
Once every two or three months	13.4%
Once every six months	19.0%
Once a year	16.4%
Once every two or three years	2.9%
Less than that	2.1%
Don’t know	5.3%
Never	5.1%
Have automatic cleaning feature	3.3%

Q7: What are you dissatisfied with regarding air conditioners? (Sample size=7,778, multiple answer)

Electricity cost is high	60.3%
Cleaning is difficult	39.6%
Doesn’t cover the whole room	29.3%
Makes a smell	25.2%
Dries the air	24.9%
Slow to cool or heat the room	24.3%
Breeze hits my body directly	20.7%
Outside device is large, in the way	17.8%
Cannot finely control the temperature	16.3%
Noisy when operating	13.8%
Hasn’t got desired features (air purifying, etc)	9.5%
Doesn’t match the decor	4.1%
Timer functions are difficult to use, not present	4.0%
Other functions are difficult to use, not present	3.0%
No remote control	1.1%
Other	2.1%
No particular dissatisfaction	10.8%

On the whole, women were more dissatisfied than men. Particular points where there was a significant gender gap included cleaning and drying the air

Q8: What features, etc would you like in air conditioners? (Sample size=7,778, multiple answer)

Low energy usage	80.2%
Electricity usage	76.4%
Price	57.2%
Automatic cleaning	48.9%
Ease of cleaning	48.8%
Air filtering features (smell, bacteria, minus ion, etc)	45.5%
Can set desired temperature	43.0%
Cooling, heating power	42.7%
Quietness	41.3%
Dehumidification	33.5%
Humidification	28.9%
Pollen reduction	24.6%
Size	22.8%
Timer	19.1%
Design, colour	17.3%
Air flow	16.9%
Easy to use remote control	16.5%
Clothes drying	12.6%
Maker, brand	8.7%
Other	0.5%
Nothing in particular	2.3%

Men were much less fussy than women, with price and power being about the only items, by just a few percentage points, that they were interested in. Automatic cleaning or ease of manual cleaning were the two main features that women wanted more than men.

Q9: Do you plan to buy an air conditioner for home use this year? (Sample size=8.925)

Definite plan to buy	5.5%
No definite plan, but would like to buy	17.1%
Don’t plan to buy	65.8%
Don’t know	11.6%