background
With the aim to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints, many citizens have reduced their energy use or have invested in making houses more sustainable, by applying thermal isolation and installing solar panels, solar boilers, heat pumps, etc.
However, an actual reduction in CO2 emission has not been achieved. A lot of people simply do not have (or believe they do not have) the financial resources to take these actions. Others lack the knowledge to judge which changes in energy-consuming behaviours are worthwhile to pursue. In addition, investments in sustainable technology sometimes cause residents to become sloppy (e.g., by taking longer showers; the so-call Rebound effect); indeed, some housing corporations have found that people consume even more energy after moving to a sustainable home compared to before.
It is evident that household behaviours need to be addressed if sustainable technology are to live up to their promise in terms of reducing their carbon footprint. One way to do this is by giving citizens a better insight in the relationship between their own behaviours and energy consumption. The HanzeBox allows users to see in realtime how energy generation (e.g., from solar panels) and use of electricity (with 2-minute intervals) and gas (15-minute intervals) develops over the course of the day; measurements are locally stored and can subsequently be used to calculate one’s household’s energy efficiency.
As yet, it is unclear if and to what extent such energy data is used by users, and how the effect of it on energy-related household behaviours (and, hence, overall household energy consumption) can be maximised. Specifically, among the questions that need answering are the following:
- How does the effect of energy data on energy-related behaviours depend on target group characteristics?
- How should energy data be visualised to maximize its effect on behaviour, and how does this depend on background characteristics?
- To what extent can serious gaming be used to motivate citizens to conserve energy?
- Etc.
Answering these and similar questions will enable the development of interventions to stimulate household energy conservation; this will be the focus of subsequent studies within this project.
This project is part of an ongoing research programme in In which the dept. Psychology of Conflict, Risk, & Safety (PCRS) and the dept. Communication Science (CS) of the University of Twente collaborate with LochemEnergie and HanzeNet.
LochemEnergie is an energy cooperation aiming to bring together inhabitants of Lochem and surrounding areas to jointly embrace the energy transition, and help them to reduce energy consumption and generate energy (www.lochemenergie.nl). Their energy coaches provide free advice on which investments to make and how to change everyday-life behaviours.
HanzeNet brings together local supply and demand by cleverly coordinating production, storage and distribution, and allows customers to get easy insight into the energy consumption in their homes or business parks by means of the HanzeBox (www.hanzenet.com).
information
Please contact Steven Watson (s.watson@utwente.nl).
keywords
Sustainability; (Household) Energy conservation; Persuasive technology; Serious gaming; Energy data visualization; Information visualization; Acceptance; (System) Trust; Information provision; Persuasive communication; Rebound effects; Spillover behaviour
literature
de Vries, P., Aarts, H., & Midden, C. J. H. (2011). Changing simple energy-related consumer behaviors: How the enactment of intentions is thwarted by acting and non-acting habits. Environment and Behavior, 43(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916510369630
De Vries, P. W., Van Den Berg, S. M., & Midden, C. (2015). Assessing Technology in the Absence of Proof: Trust Based on the Interplay of Others Opinions and the Interaction Process. Human Factors, 57(8). https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720815598604
McCalley, L. T., de Vries, P. W., & Midden, C. J. H. (2011). Consumer response to product-integrated energy feedback: Behavior, goal level shifts, and energy conservation. Environment and Behavior, 43(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916510371053
Midden, C. J. H., Kaiser, F. G., & McCalley, L. T. (2007). Technology’s four roles in understanding individuals’ conservation of natural resources. Journal of Social Issues, 63(1), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2007.00501.x