Psychological framework for energy conservation in buildings: Strategies, outcomes, directions

Abstract

This paper reviews the concepts, methods, and procedures that psychologists and other social scientists have used to develop and field test solutions to a range of social and behavioral problems. Despite only minimal interest at this time by the federal government in behavioral approaches to energy conservation, there are now many reports demonstrating the application of psychologically based procedures to conserve energy in buildings. Methods that reward energy conservation in a number of ways have yielded meaningful short-run reductions. Extensions of current strategies and other procedures derived from a framework presented in the paper may eventually result in more pervasive, longer-term savings. In the light of that objective, the paper also outlines a number of micro- and macro-level projects, some involving the meshing of behavioral and physical technology, that can be readily conducted in residential and commercial buildings.