achieving energy efficiency
through 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
KABP model
Knowledge
• Mass Education
• Campaigns
• Feedback
Attitudes
Behaviours
Practices
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 lights
Use of appliances
Setting the thermostat
Use of hot water
One-Off Behaviours
These are actions related
to occasional decisions,
such as
insulating 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.
The issue of price, consumption and billing
“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
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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
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 meter
In 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
involve
time of use tariffs
enabled
by 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
£1.00
£3.99
£14.99
1000 hours
10,000 hours
15,000 hours
Typical lumens
(brightness)
700 lm
1250 lm equivalent to
600 lm equivalent to
91W GLS bulb
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
Typical purchase
price
Typical average life
in hours
1
compared to traditional tungsten filament (GLS) bulb
A couple of examples
where 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 overfilling 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 energysaving 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.
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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