Feeding back about eco-feedback: How do consumers use and respond to energy monitors?

Buchanan, Kathryn; Russo, Riccardo; Anderson, B.

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2014.05.008

Cited by 120 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Alahmad et al, 2012;Buchanan et al, 2015Buchanan et al, , 2014Faruqui et al, 2010;Hargreaves et al, 2013Hargreaves et al, , 2010McKerracher and Torriti, 2013;Wood and Newborough, 2007). But in exploring quantitative energy feedback, there has been relatively little research on non-automated energy feedback, which can require personal input of data.…”

Section: Proposed Knowledge Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these, at least in part, draw on insights from the theories of practice literature (e.g. Buchanan et al, 2015Buchanan et al, , 2014Burchell et al, 2014;Ellegård and Palm, 2011;Hargreaves et al, 2013Hargreaves et al, , 2010Strengers, 2011). According to Shove et al (2012), a practice consists of three interconnected elements: materials (tangible items needed to perform a practice, such as technologies); meanings (social significance of performing a practice); and competences (skills, knowledges and understandings required to perform a practice).…”

Section: Energy Feedback Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy monitoring as a practice: Investigating use of the iMeasure online energy feedback tool

2017

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Energy feedback is a prominent feature of policy initiatives aimed at reducing domestic energy consumption. However little research has been conducted on the phenomenon of energy monitoring itself, with most studies looking at whether, and how, feedback impacts on energy conservation. This paper aims to address that gap from a practice theory perspective. In particular we: set out the difference between energy feedback and energy monitoring; define the practice of energy monitoring; and investigate the rationale and qualitative experiences of those performing energy monitoring. An online energy feedback tool ('iMeasure') was the basis of the case study. A netnographic analysis of online discussion about the tool informed complementary in-depth interviews with ten current/former iMeasure users. We found energy monitoring to be a distinct practice that focuses on measuring and identifying energy use trends and requires specific knowhow to perform. However, its connections to other household practices were weak and, for those who did perform monitoring, there was no guarantee that this practice would reorganise other practices to induce household energy saving. In fact, monitoring often followed decisions to make energy-related changes, rather than prompting them. We conclude that policy expectations need to be reframed in terms of how energy monitoring tools are used.

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Section: Proposed Knowledge Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Energy Feedback Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy monitoring as a practice: Investigating use of the iMeasure online energy feedback tool

2017

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“…The experimental group also exhibited higher levels of knowledge on how to conserve energy compared to the control group, following installation of the system [52]. Elsewhere, energy monitors have been shown to increase residential users' energy consciousness, indicating that prior to the installation of such monitors, energy consumption is largely an unconscious, habitual process [53]. Table 4 shows that in our survey, greater knowledge of household energy saving is further positively associated with three variables relating to the adoption of more energy efficient appliances in the home, i.e.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…With respect to price concern, saving money has been observed to be a primary reason why consumers purchase energy monitors for their households [53].…”

Section: Knowledge Of Energy Saving Versus Attitudes and Habitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

2016

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Energy consumption in households comprises over a quarter of total energy use in the UK [1]. Human behaviour is one of the main factors that can influence domestic energy consumption, together with the physical properties of the dwelling, climate, number and demographic profile of occupants, household income, lifestyle, and appliance ownership and use [2][3][4][5]. Indeed, variation in residents' behaviour can cause significant differences in energy consumption between dwellings with otherwise similar characteristics (e.g. household size, income, and building energy performance) [3,6]. It is therefore important to understand influences upon behaviour in households as these in turn have implications for domestic energy use. In this respect, strategies to stimulate pro-environmental behaviour represent one means of modifying behaviour in households in order to promote energy conservation and reduce environmental impact [7].Pro-environmental behaviour is a form of environmental action that 'consciously seeks to minimize the negative impact of one's actions on the natural and built world ' [8, p.240], and 'only refers to those personal actions that are directly related to environmental improvement ' [9, p.325]. Such environmental actions can be performed individually or collectively, and may be direct or indirect in their approach to mitigating harm to, and improving, the environment [9]. Pro-environmental behaviours can also be influenced by internal factors such as environmental awareness, values and attitudes [10] and external factors such as social norms, interaction with other individuals and financial constraints [11,12].In this study we assess how environmental knowledge influences pro-environmental behaviour in households. We establish and confirm links between knowledge about the environment and energy, actions on Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study AbstractIn this paper we evaluate the impact of knowledge about environmental and energy issues on potential pro-environmental behaviour in households, specifically relating to behaviours, attitudes and habits towards energy use. Our results are based on an empirical survey and we find significant correlations which indicate that residents with positive environmental values and greater environmental knowledge are more likely to demonstrate energy behaviours, attitudes and habits which lead to energy saving activities in households. This is further supported through a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which suggests that energy saving behaviour may also vary according to gender and employment status. Conversely, we find only limited evidence of statistical associations between environmental predisposition and knowledge, and ownership and frequency of use of household appliances. We argue that our results contribute to the significant body of literature supporting the role of knowledge in active engagement with energy issues. This study is timely following closely policy developments in activ...

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“…Effects of self-monitoring are well documented in several domains, including diet monitoring for weight reduction (for a review, see Burke, Wang, & Sevick, 2011) and eco-feedback to reduce energy usage (see, e.g., Buchanan, Russo, & Anderson, 2014;Froehlich, Findlater, & Landay, 2010). There are indications that self-monitoring of a behavior adjusts the frequency of the behavior to better suit perceived (social) norms concerning the behavior: If the behavior is seen as negative, the frequency is reduced, whereas the frequency of a more positive behavior would be increased.…”

Section: Self-monitoring and Feedback Interventions Versus Pimentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Informatics, Self-Insight, and Behavior Change: A Critical Review of Current Literature

Dijk

Westerink

Beute

et al. 2017

Human–Computer Interaction

109

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Personal informatics (PI) systems allow users to collect and review personally relevant information. The purpose commonly envisioned for these systems is that they provide users with actionable, data-driven selfinsight to help them change their behavioral patterns for the better. Here, we review relevant theory as well as empirical evidence for this selfimprovement hypothesis. From a corpus of 6,568, only 24 studies met the selection criteria of being a peer-reviewed empirical study reporting on actionable, data-driven insights from PI data, using a "clean" PI system with no other intervention techniques (e.g., additional coaching) on a nonclinical population. First results are promising-many of the selected articles report users gaining actionable insights-but we do note a number of methodological issues that make these results difficult to interpret. We conclude that more work is needed to investigate the self-improvement hypothesis and provide a set of recommendations for future work.

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Feeding back about eco-feedback: How do consumers use and respond to energy monitors?

Cited by 120 publications

References 35 publications

Energy monitoring as a practice: Investigating use of the iMeasure online energy feedback tool

Energy monitoring as a practice: Investigating use of the iMeasure online energy feedback tool

Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

Personal Informatics, Self-Insight, and Behavior Change: A Critical Review of Current Literature

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