Reducing household energy consumption isn’t an easy task. Personal audits are a great way to start, but direct appeals have already shown it has little to no impact on household energy consumption, despite its clear benefits for the environment!
That being said, you might act a bit differently if you were told that everyone in the community was reducing their consumption, except you. Would competition and a little fear of judgment motivate a behavior change?
Behavioral Psychology
US studies have found that behavioral psychology plays a key role in changing utility consumption at the household level. Peer comparison between households is one of the most effective solutions in reducing household energy consumption.
As a result, policymakers have introduced behavioral psychology to achieve the desired behavioral demand response outcomes. Behavioral demand response programs are initiatives that encourage residents to reduce energy consumption during peak periods when energy use is higher than usual. The intention is to reduce energy consumption and limit the strain on the power grid.
Opower, a private company in the US has built a successful business model around peer comparison of utility usage rates. Opower has helped households save over $2.7B in energy expenses through peer comparison feedback. It’s a huge success!
Additionally, an annual reduction in energy consumption resulted in almost $14 / year / household in utility bill savings. These metrics were observed in studies conducted on 75,000 households in America over 7 and 12-month intervals. It seems like a no-brainer to adopt
Utility Outreach
90% of Californians ranked energy conservation as “very” or “extremely” important and 98% are making efforts to “try and conserve energy.” Whilst this is all great news, no one is making the necessary steps to reduce their consumption on their own. A special push is needed to make sustained energy consumption changes.
Door hangers have been placed on thousands of homes outlining the rationale behind energy reduction; saving money, protecting the environment, and helping future generations. That being said, these hangers have very little effect on reducing energy consumption.
Peer Comparison
Door hangers that go a bit further by including metrics related to household energy consumption comparisons have been much more effective. When households are provided with a percentage score and compared against their neighbors, behavioral change is significant. Experts refer to it as altruistic peer pressure and note the practice appeals to our human desire for competition. So far, it has had a massive impact.
Houses that received peer comparison hangers showed an average energy consumption reduction of 6%. A huge metric for energy consumption and more than three times as much as homes that received general utility outreach.
Consumption Feedback
Household feedback is often provided using mail cards. This is because households are more likely to engage with feedback when it is provided directly to their door. Studies have shown that when information is required to be searched for, engagement fails to make an impact.
The mail card provides energy consumption feedback and includes utility consumption comparisons to similar households. Households are also shown how they stack up against the most efficient households in their neighborhood. So if you’ve not made the cut… It's a call-out in front of the whole community.
The feedback provides a benchmark for energy consumption and peer comparison that encourages behavior change.
Consumption Scoring
The most effective consumption scoring criteria comes in a simple three-stage approach. If household energy consumption is greater than most neighbors, residents receive 0 stars. Households consuming less than most of their neighbors receive 1 star. Households consuming less than 80% of their neighbors receive 2 stars.
The industry refers to this delivery as “injunctive messaging” which is the foundation that Opower has built its behavioral nudge.
Regardless of energy consumption, the three-staged approach either provides positive feedback in the form of stars, or no feedback at all. Studies have found that when negative feedback is issued households are more likely to push back or opt-out of peer comparison programs. The purpose of the program is to highlight excelling households, not shine a light on poorly performing households.
Sustained Behavior Change
Through this model, households are provided with consistent feedback to ensure sustained behavior change. If a household continues to overperform, their efforts are rewarded with recognition! So far it has shown incredibly positive feedback with these behavioral changes maintained after a study has concluded!
Trying to change behavior is not easy, but maintaining learned behavior is less of a challenge. That’s because the changes are typically small, it just takes doing something once to get into a habit of it.
Studies have found that households receiving peer comparison postcards reduce their energy consumption by about 2.5% more than those that do not.
So how is Prairie Robotics introducing a similar model to tackle recycling contamination?
How does Prairie Robotics use peer comparison to tackle recycling?
How can we convince you to reduce your household recycling contamination? We could try an indirect financial appeal such as reminding you that unacceptable materials decrease the value of marketable recyclables. But studies show that this type of recycling education has little to no impact on household recycling behavior.
Prairie Robotics has taken the insights found from behavioral psychology and built a platform that levels up on existing models.
First, simplified messaging provides a household with custom feedback related to their most recent recycling submission. Positive feedback is tied to images captured of recycling contents submitted by the household.
This image identifies the specific contaminants and the date they were submitted. It’s a great way to highlight specific recycling methods that are working and the household should continue to adopt while also pointing out ways they can improve.
Secondly, peer comparison data is included that shows how a household stacks up against others in their neighborhood. A simple three-staged approach is used that is easy to understand and has a massive impact on recycling behavior.
Households can see the impact of their efforts on a neighborhood scale, driving competition and establishing a positive feedback loop. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy neighborhood competition!
Lastly, a QR code is included to allow residents to provide feedback on the program. Additional metrics, a review of materials, or overall program feedback can be included.
This data is sent directly to municipal solid waste managers to assist in adjusting the recycling education program to meet households' needs. Residents must be considered in the process. Recycling comes from residents after all!
The impact of behavioral psychology is remarkable and peer comparison provides the level of competition needed to invoke sustained behavior change. In our most recent pilot project conducted with the City of Regina, we introduced peer comparison feedback to households and observed a 41% reduction in contamination in just 4 months.
