Behaviour Change and Energy Use
The report, Behaviour Change and Energy Use, launches a series of trials and changes to government policy that will help people and make it easier for them to green their homes and use less energy. These include:
- a trial to test the impact of offering upfront incentives to encourage the uptake of energy efficiency products (for example a month’s council tax holiday)
- trials that test the impact of offering community rewards and discounts for people who agree to collectively purchase energy efficiency products
- a trial that examines how behavioural feedback, including comparisons of how much energy you are using compared with a similar person, can help consumers to save energy
- reforming the front page of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), which from 2012 will provide an estimate of the costs of heating a home
The report also shows how the Government has drawn upon behavioural economics to help surpass its objective of reducing carbon emissions from departments by 10% over the course of the past year, and sets a new, more challenging target of reducing emissions by 25% by 2015.
Research
Empowering Households – Research on presenting energy consumption benchmarks on energy bills
The Department of Energy & Climate Change commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct research on the potential for including energy consumption benchmarking data on energy bills. The research comprised 49 in-depth in-home interviews with consumers to test their attitudes and preferences, and statistical analysis of electricity and gas consumption data across the UK to create credible benchmarks. The research found there was an appetite across all consumer groups interviewed for an energy consumption benchmark to be included within their bills.