Energy Econ. 54, 173–181 (2016)

Monthly energy bills tend to only give customers information on their overall usage without detailing the costs of specific appliances at different times of day. Conversely, in-home displays provide real-time information, which can allow consumers to optimize their usage. Such displays have been shown to lead to a reduction in household energy consumption, but what underpins this behavioural change remains unclear. Now, Nori Tarui at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and collaborators attempt to disentangle whether the change is driven by learning effects or by the presence of constant reminders (that is, by saliency effects).

The researchers undertook a randomized control experiment, measuring the electricity consumption of 65 households in Honolulu under different conditions over 90 days. A control group only received their standard monthly bills, while two treatment groups were given in-home displays for different periods of time. Average electricity consumption reduced by up to 11% for the treatment groups, although the effect diminished over time. Moreover, the researchers found statistically significant evidence that this reduction stemmed from learning about usage through the display, but no clear evidence for saliency effects. These findings suggest that targeting learning may be a more effective route to lowering energy use than providing constant notifications.