It is generally accepted that peer pressure influences behavior. When hotels placed small signs in bathrooms telling their guests that other guests were reusing their towels rather than insisting on receiving fresh clean towels each day, the need for towel laundering dropped drastically. Many studies have shown that when people receive feedback about their electricity consumption, they will often respond just as the hotel guests did. A number of electric companies have experimented with mailings that show homeowners how much electricity they use in comparison with neighbors in similar-size homes. However, if homeowners are using less electricity than their neighbors, they may not be inclined to reduce their use further.

For decades, environmentalists have dreamed about a magical device that could allow homeowners to receive an instantaneous reading of actual electricity use in the home. Today, environmental scientists have produced such devices. One example is The Energy Detective (TED), which provides a readout on a small device that can sit on the kitchen table or be viewed on a laptop computer. And there are many other similar devices and software packages available, including some that allow you to view your home electricity use on a laptop over the Internet.

TED and other such electricity monitoring devices provide an instantaneous readout of electricity use in your home. Suppose you are getting ready to head out for the evening. The refrigerator is plugged in, but is quiet, meaning that the compressor is not running at that exact moment. Before you turn out the last light and leave, you glance at TED and see that your house is drawing 500 watts. Wait a minute, that’s not right! Then you remember that you left your Xbox 360 game console and 42-inch flat screen TV on in the other room. You run over and turn them both off. TED now reads that only 45 watts are being used in your home. But if everything is turned off, why is your house using 45 watts? It’s probably due to the phantom load—unnecessary standby electricity—drawn by battery chargers, instant-on features on televisions, computers in sleep mode, and other electrical devices that are on even when you think they are off. Some TED owners have gone around their homes installing power strips that allow them to truly turn an appliance off and have seen their phantom loads drop as a result.

Since we know that all electricity use has environmental implications, a reduction in electricity use by any means is beneficial. The reductions that come from simple changes in behavior are some of the easiest to achieve.

Critical Thinking Questions

References

Ayres, I., S. Raseman, and A. Shih. 2009. Evidence from Two Large Field Experiments That Peer Comparison Feedback Can Reduce Residential Energy Usage. Working Paper 15386, National Bureau of Economic Research.

Schor, J. 2004. Born to Buy. Scribner.