What do people ‘learn by looking’ at direct feedback on their energy consumption? Results of a field study in Southern France

Adnane Kendel, Nathalie Lazaric and Kevin Maréchal ()
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Adnane Kendel: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Kevin Maréchal: ULB - Université libre de Bruxelles

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Abstract: The abundant literature on consumer feedback shows that it is an efficient instrument for reducing household energy consumption. However, the reported reductions are strongly dependent on contextual factors and on the type of feedback provided. Given the importance of learning to this respect, this dimension constitutes the core focus of the present study which reports the findings of the TICELEC (i.e. French acronym for information technologies for responsible electricity consumption) project in France. The experiment included a control group (G1: the self-monitoring group) and one equipped group (G2). All participants reduced their consumption and learnt either directly from feedback or indirectly through self-monitoring. The amount of energy savings, which is larger than in similar experiments, can be explained by two factors. First, the specificity of our sample (i.e. high income, high consumption) which allows for potentially large energy savings. Second, high involvement of participants and the building of trust. The quantitative and qualitative dimensions of learning are then discussed. Additionally, we focus on peak-load shifting in G2 with 2 subgroups (G21 and G22). The higher proportion of shifters in G22 and the higher 'quality' of their shifting suggest a higher level of learning enabled by the more sophisticated feedback. Although this translated into only a moderately higher rate of energy savings, the higher degree of absorbed knowledge (i.e. through 'learning by looking through connecting') might lead to a qualitatively distinctive type of energy saving.

Keywords: Household energy saving; learning; Residential consumption; feedback (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-exp
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01630972
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Published in Energy Policy, 2017, 108, pp.593-605. ⟨10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.020⟩

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Journal Article: What do people ‘learn by looking’ at direct feedback on their energy consumption? Results of a field study in Southern France (2017)
Working Paper: What Do People 'Learn By Looking' at Direct Feedback on their Energy Consumption? Results of a Field Study in Southern France (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01630972

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.020

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