Research has found energy consumption can be reduced significantly by students living in campus residences.
The research found that when students can see the amount of energy they are using in real-time and are motivated by their peers to save energy then consumption will reduce.
The combination of a real-time feedback system together with a human energy delegate in eight halls of residence resulted in a reduction of 37% in energy consumption when compared to normal consumption. The savings were 1360.49 kWh, which is equivalent to a reduction of 713.71 kg of CO2 over four weeks.
In contrast, another eight halls, exposed only to the real-time feedback and a weekly email alert, resulted in a 3.5% reduction in energy consumption.
Student’s energy-use behaviour is complex as they cannot easily identify how much electricity their appliances consume and don’t have to pay for their own energy use. The research showed that energy consumption could reduce significantly if residential halls used the Persuasive Technology and Energy Delegate (IPTED) method, developed by the research team.
IPTED is a real time feedback visual system developed to motivate student’s energy use awareness, combined with an appointed energy delegate who could use peer social influence to promote energy saving.
The full research paper can be found here.
Dr Jim Ang of the University’s School of Engineering and Digital Arts and Dr Tim Hopthrow of the School of Psychology collaborated on the research, alongside colleagues Professor Yong Yan and PhD Researcher Anthony Emeakaroha.