achieving energy efficiencythrough behaviour change

Paul Wallace

NEANI

what is behaviour change?

• Behaviour change is commonly defined as a research-based consultative process for addressing Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviour and Practices that are intrinsically linked to programme goals.

what is energy efficiency?• Energy efficiency is getting the most from

the energy we use

• And keeping it where it is needed for as long as possible

Change doesn’t come easy, however a number of ways to help people change

behaviour have been developed

One of these is the

KABP model

Knowledge Attitudes

Practices

Behaviours

KABP model

• Mass Education • Campaigns• Feedback

Many of the ways in which we use energy at home are the result of

behaviours like

turning on and off lights and televisions in the rooms we use

How we set and adjust our thermostats

Our practices in doing our washing, using the tumble dryer and the dishwasher

Our choice of light bulb

Even the length of showers we take and whether we unplug our mobile phone

chargers when they are not in use

Habitual Behaviours

Turning on/off lightsUse of appliances

Setting the thermostatUse of hot water

One-Off BehavioursThese are actions related to occasional decisions,

such asinsulating a loft or replacing a boiler

Impacting these habits and one-off behaviours is difficult

• It is important to realise that energy is an enabling product, consumers don’t turn on their television or light to use energy, they want to be entertained and they want to see.

• Energy is an intangible necessity that, like toilet paper, we take for granted until it is missing

Impacting these habits and one-off behaviours is difficult

• This is a challenge of any behaviour change program; getting people to notice and care ….

Impacting these habits and one-off behaviours is difficult

• This is a challenge of any behaviour change program; getting people to notice

and care about their energy use.

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“Consider groceries in a hypothetical store totally without price markings,

billed via a monthly statement like‘£47 for 261 units of food in April’.

How could grocery shoppers economise under such a billing regime?”

Kempton & Layne: The consumer’s energy analysis environment

The issue of price, consumption and billing

Barriers to energy behaviour change• Low prominence of energy efficiency – energy is

‘invisible’ and saving energy is often a low priority• Price of energy efficiency – efficiency measures can

be, or are perceived to be, relatively expensive • Hassle factor of installing efficiency measures, such

as the need to clear out the loft before insulation • Aesthetics, for example where people are concerned

about the attractiveness of energy saving products • Social norms (what other people are doing around you)

– norms influence people’s behaviour and can prevent them from adopting a new efficiency measure

There are three broad categories of programs

to generate energy savings through

consumer behaviour change

direct feedback programs that aim to provide real-time feedback to customers on their energy use, typically by devices that interface with the customer’s electric meter or by a smart meter In Home Display(5 – 15% savings)

Direct feedback via smart meterIn Home Display

indirect feedback, where information on consumers energy use is provided to customers in a processed manner, often through their bill or online(0 – 10% reduction in energy use)

programs based on smart metering that can involvetime of use tariffs enabledby two-way communication between the energy supplier and the customer(smaller energy savings; peak demand reductions excellent, but overall energy savings low)

Overcoming a barrier to energy behaviour change

• Aesthetics, concern about the attractiveness of energy saving products e.g. low energy lighting – people may think they are ugly and by not using them miss the energy and cost savings they provide

A number of interventions have been targeted at overcoming these

behavioural barriers to using low energy lighting

• Phasing out selling conventional light bulbs

• Changing the labelling to give prominence to

lumen - the brightness rather than the

wattage – the power used to light the bulb

Bulb comparison guide

Bulb type Traditional tungsten (GLS)

Compact Fluorescent (CFL)

LED

Typical purchase price

£1.00 £3.99 £14.99

Typical average life in hours

1000 hours 10,000 hours 15,000 hours

Typical lumens (brightness)

700 lm 1250 lm equivalent to 91W GLS bulb

600 lm equivalent to 48W GLS bulb

Wattage (power used to light the bulb)

60 watts 20 watts 9.5 watts

Energy saving 78% 1 80% 1

Lifetime saving £74.01 2 £128.79 2

1 compared to traditional tungsten filament (GLS) bulb2 estimate compared to: equivalent GLS bulb including replacing the bulb & price per kWh 17p

A couple of exampleswhere behaviour change is

having an impact

The Student Switch Off is a National Union of Students campaign that encourages students living in university halls of residence to adopt energy-saving actions, such as switching the lights off and not over-filling the kettle.

Using inter-hall competitions, prize rewards, peer-to-peer communication and social media, the campaign calculates that it achieved an average reduction in electricity use of 6% at 43 UK Universities in 2011/12.

The campaign aims to embed positive habits and reaches students at a stage in their life when they are particularly amenable to changing their habits.

‘Coolbiz’ is a successful Japanese Government campaign which was reinvigorated in 2011 to cope with power shortages triggered by the Fukushima nuclear crisis

Every summer, ‘Coolbiz’ encourages office workers to ditch their suits and instead wear more appropriate office clothes so that air-conditioners can be set to 28°C – warmer than average – to reduce energy consumption.

The CoolBiz campaign has been promoted by clothing retailers and prominent business people wearing cool office clothes. Prior to the campaign office workers did not feel comfortable breaking dress codes. This campaign has removed social barriers and shifted what is socially acceptable in terms of work wear.

After months of being told to wear less to keep cool for summer, workers are now being urged to wrap up for winter as the energy-saving Warm Biz campaign gets into gear.

The ministry suggests putting on scarves, gloves and leg warmers during the day and an extra layer after the evening bath.

Warm Biz was first introduced in 2005 as a follow-up to the Cool Biz campaign during the summer. But it didn’t really get much attention until 2011 when the government began promoting it heavily due to fears over a potential electricity shortage following the Fukushima disaster.

Behaviour change leading to energy efficiency is a challenge and there is

no silver bullet

• Anyone who has ever made and broken a New Year’s Resolution can appreciate the challenges in behaviour change.

• Making a lasting change in behaviour is rarely a simple process, and usually involves a lot of commitment of time, effort and emotion.

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Behaviour change leading to energy efficiency is worth it…..

Remember the cheapest unit of energy is the one we don’t use!

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