Effects of Real-Time Energy Feedback and Normative Comparisons: Results from a Multi-Year Field Study in a Multi-Unit Residential Building

Abstract

In the field of residential energy conservation, providing tenants with feedback on their energy use has been demonstrated as an effective intervention with savings ranging from 4 to 12%. However, methodological issues of past studies have limited our understanding of how best to design feedback. To overcome these issues, this paper leverages a feedback research platform to articulate the feedback design and usage patterns for two variations of real-time feedback dashboards. The first design utilizes historical and goal relevant information, and the second additionally leverages normative comparisons. To evaluate the designs, a year-long field study and energy conservation program was run in a rental multi-unit residential building (MURB) in Toronto, Canada. A year’s worth of pre-study and post-study data was used to benchmark consumption and analyze savings persistence, respectively, of 24 participants. Results showed a significant effect of the conservation program with a relative year-over-year, weather-normalized savings of approximately 12.8%. Exploratory analyses showed increased engagement with normative comparisons along with intra-day behaviour changes that appeared to persist along with savings a year after feedback was removed.