student resident energy conservation: saving power to conserve your reputation?

8/6/2019 Student Resident Energy Conservation: Saving Power to Conserve Your Reputation?

1/26

u en es en nergy

Conservat ion:Saving Pow er t o c onser ve your reput at ion?

J u ly 2011

Robert Gilbert, Ph.D.Housing & Hospitality Services

,


2/26

Buildings account for over two thirds of electricity usage

Currently, electricity usage almost invisible to residents

s ma e - po en a re uc on w ee ac

Challenges:

High costs of action Difficulty of interpreting information

Effectiveness of smart meters alone is unclear

This stud aims to investi ate non- ecuniar incentives thatwill interact with real-time feedback to reduce usage


3/26

Students livin in UCLA residential halls have no

data over their electricity usage

e nsta e ectr c ty meters n 66 res encehall rooms Electricit usa e broken down b source

We encourage energy conservation through two

1. real-time feedback over electricity usage, combined withsocial norms

2. Reputation effects


4/26

People tend to look toothers, especially ama or ty, to ec e owto behave.

Messages showing thatman or most othersare doing something ina certain way influence


5/26

California households ener use were monitored and then

doorknob cards were delivered to each house telling them howtheir energy use compared to the norm.

Over the next few weeks, those households who had had aboveaverage usage reduced their consumption by 5.7%; but thosewhose usa e was below avera e increased their consum tion b8.6%.

The fixed this middle ma net b uttin smile faces on thecards or those whose energy use was low and frowny faces onthe cards of those whose usage was high.

Schultz, P. W.; Nolan, J.M.; Cialdini, R.B; Goldstein, N.J.; and Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive,destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms, Psychological Science, 18:429-434.


6/26

Descriptive describes norm of behavior In unctive makes value ud ment over norm

Descriptive norms cause boomerang effect(convergence to norm)

reduce usage


7/26

Reputat ion/s tatus/conspicuous

c onsum p on

sends out a signal, rather than satisfies anintrinsic need

E.g. Chinese Mandarins and long fingernails

Branded clothing

7


8/26

Private information about energy conservation &normal behavior Tells user where they fit in compared to others Ma influence consum tion

Public information about energy conservation & normal

Individuals are motivated by how people perceive them Desire for social approval

People will act more prosocially in public than inprivate settings, so public information will be moree ec ve an pr va e n orma on


9/26

ase ne wee s er o wee s er o wee s

FALL 2010 WINTER 2011

Control

Feedback Only Feedback Feedback

Feedback +Reputation

Feedback Feedback +Reputation

Feedback (combined with descriptive norm):

Weekly electricity usage reports

Re utation: Rooms publicly rated as above/below average energy conservers


10/26

,

Constructed 2005/2006 700-1000 residents each Students have control of thermostats, plugs and lights


11/26


12/26


13/26

Technology


14/26

2010Winter Spring Summer Fall

Technologydevelopment

Pilot deployment Recruitment,survey and

installation

Baseline andfeedback

treatment

Winter Spring

status treatment


15/26

Feedbac k Treat m ent Engage

In te r faceea - me energy use

Energy usage by source

Social and historical comparisons


16/26

Feedback Treat m ent w eek ly em a il


17/26

St at us Treat m ent Engage Energ y

Stars


18/26

Surve I Basel ine I Feedback I Feedback & St a tus

326 Volunteers for experiment -

assignments (66 rooms)

What % of electrical usage do you think comes from the followingsources for a typical Rieber Terrace Room?

ver ea g ng Heating and cooling? Plug load (items plugged into electric outlets e.g. laptops, fridges,

e c.


19/26



20/26


70% of the rooms are singles

Total electricity usage per room is 182 kwh per month

California average is 587 kwh per household or 201 kwh per capita!

Averagedailyusageperroominwatthours(wh)

Totalusage(Wh) 6058.31 4431.13 250.35 20929.07heating/cooling(Wh) 4346.39 4222.53 0.00 19622.28

Light(Wh) 285.37 165.41 0.00 661.30ug . . . .

NBaselinePeriod

65

6weeks


21/26


Reduction in lights equivalent to

15% of period 1 average (for lights)


22/26


It was interesting watching my power consumption betweendays, and I feel that having access to my power usage made

oc us g roup sur vey ee ac g roup

me more aware and considerate of the amount of power Iused.

n everyone s ou ave access o s ype o n orma on,as well as a comparison of what the amount of energy consumedis equivalent to. In order to get people to consume less energy,eo le should be aware of the environmental benefits of doin

so. The amount of energy that I consume compared to otherrooms wasn't a great enough incentive to cut back, andmaybe some additional information about the scale of my

'.promoting greater conservation!


23/26


Reputation Effect reductions equivalent to

30% reduction in average period 2 ofheating/cooling

of lights

5% reduction in lu load


24/26

Foc us g roups/sur vey Reput at ion

roup

Poster Once the poster got up, it became serious

I liked the poster, it made us want to get green dots

We want to make it green because red looks bad

I thought the posters were pretty crucial to the whole process. It gets everyone elseinvolved.

We wanted to compete

When I got a green dot, I received high 5

We did not want to attract attention because we were red

Worried about how people perceive you

What did you learn? The poster was good but you need the dashboard

I learned that m actions made a difference

I learned that Heating requires a lot of energy


25/26

I maintain my habits now. I unplug my fridge when I leave for theweekend

I en o ed artici atin in this ex eriment because I feel that it haschanged my habit a lot. Now, I am more conscious of using electricityand I am trying my best to conserve energy.

(after poster is removed) I miss the poster I wanted to show the world!


26/26

Information is effective for conservation behavior Feedback with social norm has an effect on light usage

Public Information is more effective than private information Reputation motivates high electricity users to conserve

Persistence?

A larger sample size is needed to properly investigatehetero eneous res onses and motivations

CARB funded experiment in UCLA University Village next year Equip150 graduate students apartments Appliance level granularity Long-term installation in Sustainability Themed Community

student resident energy conservation: saving power to conserve your reputation?

Documents