raising awareness and learning practices of citizens for energy savings

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Raising Awareness

and Learning Practices

for Energy Savings

Andreas KamilarisPostdoc Researcher, NUSkami@nus.edu.sg

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Motivation

Raising Awareness is the process of informing a group’s norms, attitudes, beliefs and actions and influencing the group to change/transform/ re-assess its norms, attitudes, beliefs and actions towards a theoretical or a practical issue.

Behavioral change in society occurs though the following steps:1. Pre-contemplation2. Contemplation3. Preparation4. Action5. Maintenance

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Theoretical Framework

Raising Awareness as other information and learning initiatives are highly influenced by:

1.The medium/tool/action used to transmit information

2.The perceptions and experiences of the communicators and the receivers

3.The social, political and economic environment in which an initiative takes place(cultural trends, meanings attached to the message). Such environment may not have a direct connection with the initiative

4.Diversity of the target groups

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Factors influencing Awareness Raising

Focus on the Local Level to achieve a Global ChangeLocal experiences of a community in managing energy are applicable in numerous other communities around the globe Local institutions can act as transmission belts of policies and practices between the community, the region and the globeLocal stakeholders can influence directly the community and promote global actions on the local levelLocal stakeholders are more effective in reaching citizens in the community and adapting global trends in the needs of the local community Local success stories generate domino effects at global scale

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From Local to Global

How Social Change Occurs

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Project Based Learning FrameworkPractical and obvious relevance with the real worldMotivation to get involved and learnLife long learning approach Community level with local citizensSustainable knowledgeTasks which end in real tangible outcomesAddress a problem of the local community Social media and networksAssessment methods

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Get Involved

Sustainable Energy principles and practices are diffused through peers and network members

Specialized knowledge is becoming visible to all members of the network and its extended periphery

Local progress, practices and initiatives can be extended/transmitted and adopted on a global scale

Direct communication and reflection from numerous users

Interdisciplinary contributions, feedback and solutions

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The Value of Online Social Networking

“To understand energy, you first need to measure it” Lord Kelvin

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Raising Awareness: Best Practices

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Feedback through Electricity Bills

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Smart Metering

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More Personalized Smart Metering

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Feedback through Smart Metering

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Feedback through Google Power Meter Project

Timely feedback of domestic electrical consumption can contribute in reducing the amount consumed by 5-15%.

Timely feedback of domestic electrical consumption can contribute in reducing the amount consumed by 5-15%.

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More Detailed Metering

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Metering is not enough…

• Employed techniques are limited as they tend to use a “one size fits all" approach.

• Same feedback to individuals who have different motivations and experiences in energy saving.

• The long-term effect is limited.

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Eco-Feedback Systems

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Goal Setting

Feedback is most helpful when combined with goal setting.Feedback is most helpful when combined with goal setting.

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Group Participation

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Commitment

Commitment to conserve is more successful than monetary incentives in encouraging conservation behavior.

Commitment to conserve is more successful than monetary incentives in encouraging conservation behavior.

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Competitions

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Ranking

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Social Factors

"Comparative feedback, in which one's energy use is contrasted with those of others, can generating feelings of competition,

social comparison or social pressure"

"Comparative feedback, in which one's energy use is contrasted with those of others, can generating feelings of competition,

social comparison or social pressure"

“People tend to follow what other people do and adapt their behaviour and practices according to the stimuli received by their friends, relatives and neighbours”.

“Social norms can motivate people to question their attitude, if they discover it is not ”normal”.

“Social norms can motivate people to question their attitude, if they discover it is not ”normal”.

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Social Influence

• Informational: People serve as a valuable source of information to accurately evaluate one's behavior.

• Normative: People have a tendency to agree on the values, beliefs, attitudes or behaviors of others.

• Descriptive: Depict what happens in a given situation based on informational and normative influence.

• Injunctive: Describe what should happen in a given situation. Important for avoiding the boomerang effect.

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Social Influence

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Social Influence

"Strong participation in social movements is most likely when activities can be easily integrated into daily life."

"Strong participation in social movements is most likely when activities can be easily integrated into daily life."

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Social Influence

People are willing to compete in online social networks and compare with real and known people

People are willing to compete in online social networks and compare with real and known people

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Social Influence in Large Scale

300,000 domestic premises2-month periods

2-year historical information7.200,000 electricity measurements

Social Electricity

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Social Electricity

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Social Electricity

• Users prefer easy to understand info.

• Younger people prefer energy-saving tips, older people comparisons with the past and with others.

• Older people have financial incentives, younger people are motivated by social pressure.

• Need for more personalized feedback strategies.

• Social feedback helps in engaging people for longer time.

• Privacy issues, fair comparisons.

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Social Electricity

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NUS Social Energy

What about people without financial incentives? Can we assess feedback strategies?

In which case is each one more suitable?

What about people without financial incentives? Can we assess feedback strategies?

In which case is each one more suitable?

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NUS Social Energy

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Feature Frequency

Compare Previous Month 304

Compare Previous Year 234

Compare Tutorial Students 233

Compare Students 216

Breakdown Home Appliances 203

Goal Setting 193

Students Consumption Ranking 193

Competition 178

Compare Similar Students 173

Compare Area 166

Performance Area 151

Students Savings Ranking 149

Total Consumption Students 148

Translation 89

Tips Savings 69

Learning Material 57

Compare Friends 20

Friends Consumption Ranking 10

Friends Savings Ranking 9

Historical Feedback

Social Comparisons

Information and Commitment

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Summing Up Motivations for Raising Awareness

• Frequent Feedback

• Historical Feedback

• Goal Setting

• Group Participation

• Public commitment

• Competition

• Rankings

• Comparative feedback

• Social norms – social influence

• Social pressure

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Success of Online Social Networking

“Persuasion in online social networks follows regular, observable patterns. This conclusion has interesting

implications. First, software developers can tap into these patterns to create applications that are more likely to

succeed. That some applications succeed and others fail is Not based on pure chance; success can be learned

and replicated.

“Persuasion in online social networks follows regular, observable patterns. This conclusion has interesting

implications. First, software developers can tap into these patterns to create applications that are more likely to

succeed. That some applications succeed and others fail is Not based on pure chance; success can be learned

and replicated.

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Future Directions

Thank you.

Andreas KamilarisEmail: camel9@gmail.com

Web: http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~akamil01/

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