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The effect of behavioural interventions on energy conservation in naturally ventilated offices

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  • Ornaghi, Carmine
  • Costanza, Enrico
  • Kittley-Davies, Jacob
  • Bourikas, Leonidas
  • Aragon, Victoria
  • James, Patrick A.B.

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of behavioural interventions on energy conservation in naturally ventilated offices. Our aim is to inform building managers, environmental consultants, and social scientists on the effectiveness of low-cost, easy-to-implement interventions aimed at reducing energy waste and carbon emissions in a setting where individuals do not have direct financial gain and have low awareness of the environmental impact of their actions. The interventions consist of three types of emails with different information content aimed at encouraging recipients not to leave the windows of their office open overnight or during weekends. Our results show that these interventions are effective in promoting energy savings, as the percentage of windows left open by treated occupants is typically halved compared to a control group. We find that the impact of the treatment is stronger when we provide specific information about the energy waste of the building where the email recipients work or when we show them how their behaviour differs from that of their peers. Moreover, our results show that positive behavioural changes are still observed a few weeks after the interventions are terminated, thus suggesting that such interventions do not act only as temporary “cues” which are easily forgotten by recipients.

Suggested Citation

  • Ornaghi, Carmine & Costanza, Enrico & Kittley-Davies, Jacob & Bourikas, Leonidas & Aragon, Victoria & James, Patrick A.B., 2018. "The effect of behavioural interventions on energy conservation in naturally ventilated offices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 582-591.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:74:y:2018:i:c:p:582-591
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2018.07.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Marta Gangolells & Miquel Casals & Núria Forcada & Marcel Macarulla, 2020. "Life Cycle Analysis of a Game-Based Solution for Domestic Energy Saving," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Adanu, Kwami & Akpalu, Wisdom & Kuada, Eric, 2025. "Switching from postpaid to prepaid meters and electricity consumption in Ghana," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Rebecca Afua Klege & Martine Visser & Saugato Datta & Matthew Darling, 2022. "The Power of Nudging: Using Feedback, Competition, and Responsibility Assignment to Save Electricity in a Non-residential Setting," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(3), pages 573-589, March.
    9. Uzziah Mutumbi & Gladman Thondhlana & Sheunesu Ruwanza, 2022. "Co-Designed Interventions Yield Significant Electricity Savings among Low-Income Households in Makhanda South Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Shen, Meng & Li, Xiang & Lu, Yujie & Cui, Qingbin & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Personality-based normative feedback intervention for energy conservation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    11. Manxuan Xiao & Wu Deng & Haipeng Ma & Jinshun Wu & Tongyu Zhou & Jinsong Zhu & Yasha Wang & Song Pan, 2024. "Influence of Subjective Factors on Window Use in Maternity Hospitals in Spring," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-29, November.
    12. Zhang, Chaoqun & Zha, Donglan & Jiang, Pansong & Wang, Fu & Yang, Guanglei & Salman, Muhammad & Wu, Qing, 2023. "The effect of customized information feedback on individual electricity saving behavior: Evidence from a field experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
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    JEL classification:

    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy
    • Q29 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Other
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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