Earth Notes: General Bibliography (ehrhardt-martinez2011persistence)

• [ehrhardt-martinez2011persistence] Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez The Persistence of Feedback-Induced Energy Savings (accessed 2022-12-15), 2011 (article) (BibTeX).
  abstract

  "Advanced metering devices and new feedback programs and technologies are opening up a wide range of new opportunities to make energy consumption more visible to residential consumers and to engage individuals and households in more thoughtful energy use practices. Data from several recent studies suggest that feedback-induced energy savings can be significant (Darby 2006, EPRI 2009) ranging from 4 to 12 percent on average depending on the technologies employed, the characteristics of the program, and other relevant factors (Ehrhardt-Martinez et al. 2010). However few studies have considered the persistence of feedback-induced energy savings. This paper will assess the persistence of energy savings in three ways: 1) by assessing the relationship between study duration and energy savings across studies, 2) by assessing the persistence of energy savings as reported by a significant subset of the larger sample of primary studies, and 3) by assessing the persistence of energy savings associated with the seven longest feedback studies While the first approach suggests that feedback-related energy savings are smaller for longer studies, the second and third approaches suggests that savings are persistent over time. The paper discusses these seemingly paradoxical results and the insights gained by a further assessment of evidence.
  note

  [Quote: "The actual level of savings achieved by any specific program seems to be a function of two variables: the type of feedback and the program's successful integration of one or more social-scientifically derived mechanisms for motivating, engaging and empowering participants to take action. With regard to the type of feedback, direct forms of feedback tend to generate greater levels of energy savings as compared to indirect forms of feedback. In addition, to the type of feedback, however, feedback programs also seem to benefit from the integration of numerous socially-rooted measures that help people to translate feedback information into action. More specifically, past research suggests that feedback initiatives that integrate motivational components, empowerment measures, and support structures (such as social norms, goal setting, and group-based programs) are likely to achieve greater levels of energy savings than those that do not include these components. Of particular importance for this study, is that some of these same elements have been identified as playing an important role in determining the persistence of behavior change."]