The Missing Link? Insights from an Innovative Feedback Exercise for Household Electricity and Travel Behaviour

Malek Al-Chalabi and David Banister
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Malek Al-Chalabi: Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
David Banister: Transport Studies Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: The objective of this study was to explore how individuals perceive their different types of energy use and evaluate if this information could be useful for further understanding energy demand reduction. Based on a literature review, an innovative feedback exercise was developed that gave participants feedback on electricity use, travel, and then both electricity use and travel simultaneously. Through the use of an interdisciplinary mixed methods research approach, the findings indicate that electricity use and travel are viewed as being very different, there is an opportunity to improve travel-related feedback when compared to electricity, and most do not see a link between electricity and travel. A small number of participants did see a link between electricity and travel, and this was also explored. These findings, which until now have not been explored in the literature, take a first attempt at comparing how individuals perceive their different types of energy use and highlight the relevance of this type of research in order to further advance energy demand management. Implications for a low carbon energy transition and future areas of research were identified and discussed, including decreasing travel in a way that is perceived as being advantageous, improving feedback that illustrates the importance of individual choices, and the importance of examining multiple energy behaviours simultaneously.

Keywords: energy demand; low carbon energy transitions; energy policy; household energy behaviour; travel behaviour; behavioural change; demand side energy management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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