Case Studies of Effective Behavioral Approaches to Improving Customer Energy Efficiency

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), released this report to highlight behavioral approaches to improving customer energy efficiency in the industrial, building, and transportation sectors. According to the report, behavioral programs have the potential to greatly increase energy efficiency accomplishments in the United States. Social science, when combined with reliable evaluation, can yield dividends for energy efficiency programs; there has recently been a rapid expansion of interest in behavioral work and inquiry into program evaluation and performance. This report showcases 10 large-scale programs that provide concrete evidence of their accomplishments.

The programs cover three sectors:

• industry
• buildings and utilities
• transportation

The report describes some common program designs and recommend ways to align them with social science research. It finds that making energy use visible, setting measurable goals, marketing relevant benefits, leveraging social norms and networks, promoting competitions and goal setting, and speaking to non-economic motivations all appear to increase energy savings.