What Will It Take To Get Other People Involved In Energy Efficiency?

The notion of energy efficiency just isn't sexy enough to get people's attention it seems. How can we make the topic more urgent and interesting in order to get more people to participate in energy efficiency measures?


When people hear about energy efficiency ideas they usually like them, but do little or nothing about it. People tend to stay in their habit ruts unless something drastic pushes them to do something different. If you can't afford your electric bill then maybe you will take some measures to reduce it to an affordable level.


In the past policymakers have used a price-based approach such as greenhouse gas emissions taxes, and rebates for trading old appliances for energy efficient appliances, as incentives to encourage consumers to make better energy efficiency choices. Research in psychology and behavioral economics suggests that non-price approaches can be as powerful in influencing consumers choices.


Regularly sending each consumer an energy use report, which compares their consumption to similar nearby households along with a description of the social norm are better at reducing energy use than other appeals such as saving the environment and social responsibility. The report would also include energy conservation tips. Most people deny social norms will influence them, but trials done by Opower when partnering with several utility companies showed that social norms will influence behavior even though people claim it does not.

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