This paper presents evidence from a field experiment in student residences in Singapore. The study provided residents with feedback about their electricity consumption, specific to a high-energy use appliance (i.e. air-conditioner). It provided the relevant social norm information by varying the reference group of each resident.
The study found that appliance-specific feedback was a powerful tool to curb electricity consumption. Residents significantly reduced their average air-conditioning usage by 17% relative to baseline. This reduction is about eight times larger than that of the control group (2%).
While the largest reductions in consumption occurred when social comparisons were made with identifiable neighbors (reduction of 18.45%) compared to unidentifiable neighbors (reduction of 15.55%), a comparison with the average student resident (reduction of 16.79%) may be the most useful for the following reasons.
- It yields a reasonably high reduction.
- It is relatively easy and inexpensive to provide, as it avoids the need for personalization.
- It avoids privacy concerns.
The study notes that the greatest savings can be achieved with high energy-use appliances, and that the provision of appliance-specific feedback for these appliances can be easily implemented with the advent of new smart meter technologies. With appliance-specific feedback, households can be better informed of the potential channels through which they could conserve electricity.
The study data show that users changed their behavior towards the social norm. Above-average users significantly reduced their electricity consumption from air-conditioning, while below-average users slightly increased theirs. The reductions from above-average users more than compensated for the modest increase in consumption by below-average users. The authors suggest that the effectiveness of comparative feedback may be limited for certain groups, and that such interventions will achieve larger effect sizes when targeted at high baseline users. |
