Energy Conservation Behavior Research Articles

Impact of Climate Change Beliefs on Youths' Engagement in Energy-Conservation Behavior: The Mediating Mechanism of Environmental Concerns.

Global climate change presents a profound threat to the survival and continued development of humanity. The present study featured a survey of 3005 adolescents in China on 13 December 2021, aiming to determine whether climate change beliefs (including recognition of the existence of climate change, cognition of the causes of climate change, and climate change risk perception) influence their engagement in energy-conservation behaviors. Concurrently, the psychological mechanism underlying the influence of environmental concerns on the above relationship was also tested. The results showed that, among youths, climate change belief positively predicts engagement in energy-conservation behaviors. Specifically, awareness of the existence of climate change, knowledge of the causes of climate change, and climate change risk perception all positively predict engagement in energy-conservation behaviors. Further, environmental concerns were found to play a mediating role in the relationship between climate change beliefs and energy-conservation actions. From a practical perspective, the government and education departments should guide young people to develop accurate perceptions of climate change, and should raise their awareness of energy conservation and social responsibility, which should lead to their development of energy-conservation habits.

MySmartE – An eco-feedback and gaming platform to promote energy conserving thermostat-adjustment behaviors in multi-unit residential buildings

In this paper, we present a first-time cloud-based eco-feedback and gaming platform that aims to promote energy conserving thermostat-adjustment behaviors in multi-unit residential buildings. To achieve this goal, we introduce a new modeling approach for personalized eco-feedback design integrated with a collaborative social game to assist residents enhance their thermostat use while promoting community-level energy savings. Our modeling framework is integrated into a cloud-based application, MySmartE, with visual (wall-mounted tablet) and voice (Alexa) user interfaces to facilitate behavioral changes in a user-centric approach. The platform is deployed in a multi-unit residential community in Fort Wayne, IN, and data from the field study are used to investigate: (i) how occupants' thermostat behaviors changed after using the MySmartE app; (ii) how users interacted with the app during the game; and (iii) how was users' experience with the developed platform. Despite the heterogeneous characteristics of households, the results from the field study showed the positive effect of the intervention in the thermostat-adjustment behaviors, which resulted in an increase in the indoor temperature during the cooling season compared to the baseline. Findings from the user interaction analysis and post-experiment interviews also revealed the significant potential to nudge households’ energy conservation behaviors with the developed platform along with the challenges that should be tackled to derive long-term behavior changes.

USAGE INTENTIONS, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORS TOWARDS ENERGY-EFFICIENT APPLICATIONS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Energy waste is an emerging issue worldwide, with energy conservation goals, such as conscious energy consumption, playing a crucial role in helping the environment. The rapid growth of smart appliances has led to the development of mobile applications, with an increased interest among policymakers to design eco-saving plans for optimizing power and battery consumption. This study aims to explore the usage intention of energy-efficient applications, through young consumers’ energy conservation behavior, behavioral characteristics, and COVID-19 pandemic experience. Based on empirical investigation, a survey was applied in Romania among 590 mobile app users. The data were tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (SmartPLS, version 3). The results indicate the impact of behavioral characteristics, namely, energy conservation attitude, subjective norms, and environmental knowledge on young users’ energy conservation behavior. The influential effect of COVID-19 on energy-saving behavior was also proven. Energy conservation behavior, and functional and hedonic values positively influence Millennials’ and Gen Zers’ energy-efficient app usage intentions. The study also discusses some implications for policymakers, marketers, and software developers, as well as providing theoretical suggestions for future work.

Energy Conservation Behaviour Among the Malaysian Youth: A Study Under the Premises of Value-Belief-Norm Model

Intensive energy consumption has become a norm among the younger generation. Energy consumption can be reduced when consumers develop environmental values, beliefs, and norms to build pro-environmental behaviours. The current study’s objective is to expose the intention and behaviour to minimise energy consumption among young Malaysian residents using the value-belief-norm (VBN) framework. Data collection was performed using social media in a cross-sectional manner. The collected data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA). Data analysis confirmed the application of VBN framework on the energy conservation behaviours among Malaysian youth. Personal biospheric and altruistic values significantly saturated the new environmental paradigm that harnessed the awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility to engage in pro-environmental behaviours. The personal norms significantly influenced the energy conservation intention, leading to energy conservation behaviours. The NCA results suggest that the ascription of responsibility, biospheric and altruistic values are the most significant necessary conditions for promoting energy conservation behaviours. The policy and practical implications have proposed that the collaborative efforts are required to address the issue of wasteful energy consumption at a personal level, promote energy-efficient household devices, and increase monetary nudges to reward energy conservation behaviours. The study limitations and future research openings are also discussed in this paper.

Energy conservation behavior of university occupants in Kuwait: A multigroup analysis

The continuous increase in energy consumption has led to strategies worldwide to encourage energy conservation behavioral strategies to mitigate high demand and environmental problems. Limited literature focuses on the university occupants' energy conservation behaviors (ECBs). This study examined how three university occupant groups (faculty, students, and staff) performed in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TBP) hypotheses. The current study also aims to examine how the occupants differ in the dimensions of TBP affecting their ECBs. Model testing was done using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and multigroup analysis (MGA). At the overall model, results showed that all predictors of ECB are significant. All hypotheses were supported except for direct relationships between EK and ECB and AWC and ECB. After applying the MGA, our research revealed that faculty demonstrated a more confident ECB and have a more positive INT than students and staff due to their EK and AWC. However, there is still a significant difference in the EK of occupants. Interestingly, this study found that students display greater trust in SNs than the levels of SNs reported by faculty and staff. This research suggests that universities should consider implementing unique energy education methods and approaches to each occupant.

Characteristics and influencing factors of energy consumption in Chinese rural households.

In the 14th Five-Year Plan, China clearly proposed to achieve carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutralization by 2060, which will be incorporated into the Ecological Civilization Construction. Therefore, it is particularly important to control the consumption of fossil energy in rural areas. Under this background, the paper is based on the filed survey data of rural households and uses the method of CLAD (the censored least absolute deviations) estimation of Tobit model to study the influencing factors and structural characteristics of rural households' energy consumption. The results show that the consumption of traditional energy with low-quality takes a main proportion of total energy consumption in rural households, which is unreasonable and needs transforming urgently. Also, there is heterogeneity among regions. Family characteristics, family wealth, and energy conservation initiative have an impact on total energy consumption and different types of energy. Especially, households with high frequency of energy conservation behavior and strong policy perception will reduce the consumption of high-polluting firewood and increase the use of coal and electricity.

Science literacy promotes energy conservation behaviors in Filipino youth via climate change knowledge efficacy: Evidence from PISA 2018

AbstractToday’s youth will inherit the brunt of climate change. Science literacy plays a critical role in raising future adults who commit to climate change mitigation by reducing daily household energy use. The objective of this study was to examine the mediating role of climate change knowledge efficacy on the positive influence of science literacy on engagement in energy conservation at home among Filipino adolescents. Data from the Program for International Student Assessment 2018 which included 7233 15-year-old high school students from 187 schools across 17 regions in the Philippines was used to address the study’s objective. Results showed that climate change knowledge efficacy fully mediated the positive association between science literacy and household energy conservation among Filipino adolescents. The study discussed the importance of emphasizing environmentalism in science education, parenting, and community programs as a viable and long-term climate change mitigation response.

Energy conservation literacy among households in Sub-Sahara Africa

PurposeEnergy conservation literacy within households is a contemporary and topical issue globally. However, scant research has been conducted on energy-saving literacy amongst Ghanaian households. To substantiate the problem, this paper aims to examine energy conservation literacy and behaviours among Ghanaian households in the Greater Accra Region.Design/methodology/approachThe study assessed household electricity use and explored determinants of household energy conservation behaviours. Data was collected through a survey administered to households within the target region and analysed using descriptive statistics and Spearmen’s rank correlation.FindingsResults showed electricity conservation among households is greatly influenced by the number of household occupants, household income levels, and the quality and quantity of appliances. The study also found that conservation behaviours are positively correlated to the number of occupants, household income levels, the quantity of electrical appliances, age of household members, number of rooms and level of urbanization within the home’s geographical region. Cumulatively, the findings suggest households held positive attitudes towards efficient energy practices. Enigmatically, the use of energy-conserving alternative technologies was not widely used by households; hence, this factor does not significantly affect household energy conservation.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough limited to Ghana’s capital region, the findings can be used to inform policy and regulations at the regional and national levels in designing an efficient and effective mechanism to reduce the country’s overall energy use.Practical implicationsPremised upon the findings, the study recommends an intensification of education and awareness-creation on various energy-saving regulations and initiatives and thorough education on the usage of standardized (approved) refrigerators to promote the consistent adoption of energy conservation measures among households.Originality/valueThis study pioneers investigations into the influence of household demographic variables on overall electricity conservation behaviours exhibited by Ghanaian households

AI-powered virtual assistants nudging occupants for energy saving: proactive smart speakers for HVAC control

ABSTRACT Virtual assistants powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and integrated into the smart home ecosystems facilitate human–building interactions. We have envisioned that the proactive virtual assistant capabilities could be designed to encourage energy conservation behaviours by relying on their nudging effect through conversational interactions, autonomous actuation and guiding users’ decision-making. To this end, we investigated how proactive virtual assistants, in a simulated smart home ecosystem, influence occupants to take energy-saving, adaptive actions for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) operations and how participants’ personal characteristics affect their responses. Through an interactive online experiment, we collected data from 307 participants from diverse backgrounds across the United States. It was found that proactive communications with follow-up conversations can significantly increase the likelihood of accepting virtual assistance recommendations. This improvement was reflected in an increased number of participants (by 16%) who accepted energy-saving suggestions by comparing initial versus final responses during proactive conversations. Characterizing groups of participants based on their personal features and individual differences showed that user experience (with ∼30% increase), pro-environmental values/beliefs (with ∼24% to 35% increase) and forgiving thermal preferences (with ∼12% increase) had a significant influence on participants’ stated likelihood to accept virtual assistants’ recommendations and their evaluation of the general concept of proactive communication from virtual assistants.

What effect does feedback have on energy conservation? Comparing previous household usage, neighbourhood usage, and social norms in Japan

Home Energy Reports are well-known behavioral interventions providing social comparison that compare a household’s current energy usage with that of similar households. They also provide injunctive norm-based classification that indicate to recipients whether their current energy conservation habits are socially acceptable. This social comparison-based feedback has gained significant attention as an effective method for enhancing household energy conservation. However, the relative effect size of this practice, compared to other typical feedback approaches such as historical comparison (which compares a household’s current and past usage), has not been investigated. This study shows two important findings derived from a large-scale randomized experiment examining the behavioral features of energy-use feedback programs. First, social comparison-based Home Energy Reports were significantly more effective than historical comparison-based Home Energy Reports. Second, households using less energy than other similar households were likely to respond positively to injunctive norm-based classification, irrespective of the type of usage comparison in Home Energy Reports. Using a large-scale experiment, our study was the first to confirm that social comparison is more effective in promoting households’ energy conservation behavior than other types of usage comparisons.

ENERGY KNOWLEDGE IN INFLUENCING HOUSEHOLD’S ENERGY CONSERVATION BEHAVIOUR

Malaysia needs to ensure stable energy consumption to improve environmental quality and energy security. The increasing trend of the country’s population growth and economic development are parallel with the country’s overall energy demand. The building sector, commercial and residential sector has contributed to more than 12% of the country's final energy consumption in the year 2018. The energy demand from the household sector is on an increasing trend. The residential sector is responsible for the increasing trend of energy consumption with the improvement of lifestyle and living standards. Variation in residents’ behaviour can cause significant differences in energy consumption due to dwellings, household size, income, and building energy consumption. Past studies have shown the identification of the relevant psychological factors that formulating energy conservation behaviour contributed to household energy consumption reduction. By focusing on the psychological dimension, this study explores the role of energy knowledge in influencing energy conservation behaviour among households in Malaysia. Energy knowledge is about the household’s understanding in the context of energy-saving and consumption. Despite massive information and awareness of climate change about the contribution of climate change from household energy consumption, many households still do not practice energy conservation actively. By conducting a systematic literature review, this study found that energy knowledge plays an essential role in influencing household energy conservation behaviour. The findings of this study could help the institutions and relevant authorities to gain a better understanding of the role of energy knowledge as one of the psychological factors in household energy conservation behaviour.

An energy performance assessment method for district heating substations based on energy disaggregation

Comprehensive assessment and diagnosis of the energy performance of district heating (DH) substations are important for the energy efficiency enhancement of DH. However, one major obstacle encountered in performing the comprehensive assessment is the lack of detailed sub-energy consumption data. In this paper, an effective energy performance assessment method for DH substations is presented, in which the idea of energy disaggregation is adopted. Firstly, data pre-processing is conducted to improve the quality of existing operation data. Secondly, Energy Signature (ES) models of buildings are established for heat consumers to disaggregate building heating energy consumption into four components, including the heat losses of inefficient regulation, the heat losses of hydraulic imbalance, the heat losses of building envelop and the heat losses of occupant behavior. And finally, based on the separate components and the calculated consumption of heat exchangers and pipes, the energy performance of DH substations is comprehensively assessed by appropriate reference benchmarks and their energy-saving potential is fully identified. The proposed method was applied to a DH substation in Shijiazhuang. The results indicate that the energy-saving potential of the substation accounts for 25.4% of the total energy consumption. The energy consumption can be reduced with the improvement of operation regulation (11.6%), hydraulic condition (5.9%), occupants’ energy-conservation behavior (5.6%), and others (2.3%). The information can provide insights into the operational optimization of existing DH.

The Emergence of Employees' Change Readiness for Energy-Conservation Behavior During Guided Group Discussions.

Studies of energy conservation efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in the residential sector are abundant; however similar efforts in organizations have not received as much attention as they deserve. In this study, we focus on methods for increasing employees’ readiness to change their behaviors in favor of energy conservation, specifically examining the use of guided group discussions (GGDs). We use observational research methods to examine the micro-level of behavioral dynamics and understand the emergence of change readiness. We describe how facilitators (“change agents”) can conduct GGDs and foster employees’ change readiness using the established communication approach of Motivational Interviewing (MI). We also explore how employees can increase each other’s change readiness regarding energy conservation behavior. Based on our sample of eight videotaped GGDs (5430 behavioral events), interaction analysis reveals that solution-focused communication elicits change readiness in employees, whereas problem-focused communication prompts resistance to change. We further show that employees can motivate their co-workers to express “green” intentions: when employees verbalized statements in favor of energy saving, this increased other employees’ change readiness, while verbalized statements against energy saving had the opposite effect. This demonstrates that GGD participants are active individuals who can spark behavior change in their co-workers. Finally, based on our findings we propose several communication guidelines for working with groups and discuss the importance of solution-focused energy management practices to facilitate change readiness for energy saving in the workplace.

Pro-Environmental Behaviours at Work: The Interactive Role of Norms and Attitudinal Ambivalence

The environmental costs arising from unsustainable production patterns have increased to the point that organisations are now expected to adopt more responsible practices. Pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) in the workplace can significantly contribute to bettering companies’ environmental performance and sustainability transition. This research investigated the interactive role of norms and attitudes in predicting voluntary energy conservation behaviours, based on a correlational study of 189 Portuguese workers. The study examined whether perceived norm conflicts involving co-workers, closer colleagues and leaders’ behaviours promote or hinder workers’ own PEBs and whether attitudinal ambivalence towards their organisation’s pro-environmental initiatives is a moderator of this relationship. Controlling for the effect of the pro-environmental organisational climate, the ages of employees and organisation size, the results confirm that felt ambivalence moderates the relationship between norm conflict and reported energy conservation behaviours. The findings indicate that ambivalent workers are less likely to engage in PEBs if they perceive norm conflict, that is, if other staff members are not equally motivated to adopt those behaviours. Conversely, norm conflict had an energising effect on non-ambivalent workers. The results thus indicate that organisations could benefit from promoting their environmental policies more explicitly, encouraging their employees to discuss these initiatives and making voluntary PEBs more visible in the workplace.

A template for promoting energy conservation in Nigeria’s residential sector

Energy conservation is an all-encompassing principle (building economics, behavioural, technological and educational) whose cumulative effects can result to improvement in energy access, energy availability and sufficiency, quality of life and retractive impacts on climate change and reduction in carbon footprint of a country. With the current global realities of COVID-19 pandemic, energy conservation has become one of the systemic resilience strategies necessary to manage dwindling energy supplies and financial shocks. However, as simplistic as it sounds, energy conservation as a behaviour of household consumers is a complex phenomenon that has persisted throughout the century. While strategic policies and long-term planning have promoted and re-orient consumers in some developed and developing countries towards energy conservation behaviour, there is no paradigm shift from energy wastage to energy conservation among consumers in Nigeria’s residential sector. This paper therefore discusses the factors that constrains energy conservation among household electricity consumers, unearths precursors and enablers of energy conservation with peculiar appeal to Nigeria. Policy implications and strategies of entrenching energy conservation culture are also outlined.

Diversity and causality of university students’ energy-conservation behavior: Evidence in hot summer and warm winter area of China

Energy conservation in universities is significant to sustainable development, and students' behaviors hold great potential for green university development. However, few studies focused on the diversity and causality of energy-conservation behaviors (ECBs) among university students, as well as behavior differences in social characteristics. In this study, university students' ECBs were defined, including habitual ECBs, restricted ECBs, and interpersonal ECBs through literature reviews. A theoretical model of behavior causality was constructed based on the refined theory of planned behavior. Four hundred and thirty-nine questionnaire data verified the hypothesized causality using a structural equation model. Diversities in social characteristics on behavior paths and determinants were explained through multi-group analysis and one-way analysis of variance. Results show that: (1) ECBs are all affected by comfort preference and perceived self-efficacy, and perceived self-efficacy is the most critical facilitator; (2) the determinants and their importance of ECBs vary with the behavior types; (3) the effect of comfort preference, energy-conservation value, and perceived self-efficacy acting on habitual ECBs are completely mediated by energy-conservation intention; (4) gender, grade, and discipline have no moderating effect on behavior paths, while they have significant differences in behaviors and factors, and it emphasizes the necessity to focus on males, higher grades, and social science students. This work generated fresh insight into the causality of students’ ECBs and differences of behaviors and determinants in social characteristics, which make contributions to the development of ECB-related theories. Besides, some theoretical references for university administrators were provided to develop energy management measures.

Sustainable development goals and firm carbon emissions: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Using a difference-in-differences approach, this paper investigates the impact of changes in China's sustainable economic development goals on the energy conservation and emissions reductions behavior of Chinese firms. On average, incorporating emissions reduction targets into the long-term development plans produced significant effects in terms of energy conservation and emissions reduction, reducing energy consumption intensity between 2008 and 2011 by 1.39% and carbon emission intensity by 2.37%. The effects were mainly achieved through two long-term mechanisms, namely, optimizing energy consumption structure and increasing investment in green technologies. Both reflect firms' preference to take long-term measures rather than temporary ones. We also found that non-state-owned firms, firms without government financial subsidies, and firms with high external financing dependence, put more effort into reducing their carbon emissions in order to comply with the adjusted goals.

Energy Conservation Behaviors and Awareness of Polish, Czech and Ukrainian Students: A Case Study

Energy education of the younger generation, who are the future decision makers, investors, consumers, scientists, or skilled labor force in new energy technologies, is crucial for the future of Europe and the world. However, beyond the long-term goals of energy education policies, the short-term effects on energy conservation and the promotion of renewable energy sources are equally as important. The main purpose of the paper is to identify and analyze the behavior of students (who study the issues related to energy saving and RES), in terms of energy conservation. The conducted analysis focused on examining and comparing the scope of responses of the surveyed students in individual countries, especially in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine. The survey was carried out using the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI). Descriptive and graphical methods were used to present the results. Statistical analysis of the collected data included basic measures of descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The main results of the study are as follows: Almost 60% of the surveyed students follow the principles of energy conservation; however increased educational activities on eco-energy behaviors is recommended. The share of RES in the heating systems of the studied residential buildings is 9%, on average, with the highest percentage of houses in Poland (14%) and the lowest in Ukraine (only 2.6%). When compared with literature reports, the collect data show that educational activities can be as effective as a tool in implementing RES and pro-environmental behaviors as the government’s environmental policy and household subsidies.

Are you an energy saver at home? The personality insights of household energy conservation behaviors based on theory of planned behavior

Personality traits play an important role in pro-environmental behavioral heterogeneity. This study aims to explore the effects of Big Five personality traits on the energy-saving behavior of residents based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). We employ the k-means algorithm to cluster 1119 respondents in Xi'an, China by their personality characteristics into four groups: (1) the positives, (2) the temperates, (3) the conservatives, and (4) the introverts. The research observes significant heterogeneity of energy-saving behavior among the four resident groups. We examine the behavioral pattern of each resident group, and the analysis indicates that TPB attributes bridge personality traits and household energy-saving behaviors. The extended TPB factors explain the best performance on household energy-saving intention and behaviors of the positives. Besides, the results present the different effects of psychological factors on the energy-saving behaviors of different resident groups. The positive and temperate groups’ energy-saving intention is more sensitive to subjective norms, while perceived behavior control plays a more critical role in other groups. This study could broaden the scope of pro-environmental behavior research and advance knowledge by untangling the intertwined relationship between personality traits and household energy-saving behavior. The findings can contribute to occupant typology development, which is important to capture the diverse energy effect of occupant activity in building energy simulation research as well as differential energy-saving intervention setting in residential buildings to achieve sustainable development goals.

REVIEW OF IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY TECHNOLOGIES

Energy Efficiency is central to achieving the interrelated economic, social and environmental goals of sustainable development. Improving Energy Efficiency is about using technology that requires less energy to perform the same function plus the share of renewables in final energy consumption. and it goes beyond energy conservation behavior which results in the use of less energy This paper focuses on the deployments of improving Energy efficiency as important infrastructure for smart environment. Home energy management systems employ automated technologies to manage and reduce residential energy use and cost, as well as make energy reductions through energy efficiency measures more visible to the customer, and extend energy management systems to Internet of things applications. We first review energy management systems and Internet of things technologies. Then, we investigate the role of Cost Benefit Analysis in supporting decision-making processes in the context of projects related to home automation application.