The Spillover Effects of Real-Time Social Comparison Information on Water and Energy Use: Experimental Evidence Using In-Home Displays

In this field experiment, we investigate the spillover effects of real-time social comparison information provided via in-home displays on residential water and energy consumption. We find that social comparisons targeted at electricity use induce conservation beyond electricity, leading to substantial reductions in energy use for water and space heating. Meanwhile, social comparisons targeted at water use induce little or no effects on electricity, water, and space heating consumption. We argue that the differences in the direct and spillover effects of the two treatments can be explained by the differences in preexisting social norms and moral dissonance. The analysis of the heterogeneity of spillover effects reveals that the observed effects are more pronounced among households at the higher percentiles of resource use. Overall, our results suggest that spillover effects on resource use could be as large as the direct effects of behavioral interventions if there are strong, preexisting social norms to conserve the targeted resource.