Abstract
Behaviour change interventions aiming to reduce household energy consumption are regarded as an effective means to address disparities between demand and supply and reduce emissions. Less recognised is their success in shifting consumers’ energy consumption from peak demand periods to off-peak times of the day. This study reports two experiments that test the effect of feedback and reminder notifications on energy consumption in university halls-of-residence. A quasi-experiment and a randomised controlled experiment were conducted with residential students to evaluate behaviour change interventions aimed at reducing daily peak and critical peak demand, respectively. The results of Experiment One (n = 143) demonstrated significant reductions in the energy use of the treatment group relative to the control. On average, the treatment group’s energy use was 12.4 per cent lower than their pre-intervention baseline. In Experiment Two (n = 88), normative elements of the intervention were supplemented with a reminder notification prior to the onset of the simulated critical peak demand period. The results showed that, relative to the control condition, the 8-h notification reduced demand by 20% on average with a 12% decrease for the 24-h notification (with 2-h follow-up). These results indicate that peak energy issues can be alleviated using low-cost and easily implemented behaviour change strategies.
Highlights
Energy conservation is an important issue for most countries because the historical and continued exploitation of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels is having considerable impact upon the environment
Prior to testing the effect of the intervention on energy consumption, the treatment and control groups were compared to identify any differences in the social psychological variables theoretically related to the behaviour
The results of Experiment One showed that the provision of normative feedback significantly reduced daily peak energy use compared with the provision of information about energy saving tips
Summary
Energy conservation is an important issue for most countries because the historical and continued exploitation of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels is having considerable impact upon the environment. Other examples reported in the literature include multifamily apartments [8], residential quarters on military bases [9] and tourist accommodation [10] In these types of residential settings, energy reductions need to be motivated largely via non-price incentives. The results of these trials are reported along with a discussion of their significance for energy demand management. The article ends with a recognition of study limitations and some general conclusions
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