U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

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Author: U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: 2016

This summary from a Better Buildings Residential Network peer exchange call focused on developing messaging and branding strategies.

Author: Kira Ashby and Hilary Forster, Consortium for Energy Efficiency; Bruce Ceniceros, Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Bobbi Wilhelm, Puget Sound Energy; Kim Friebel, Commonwealth Edison; Rachel Henschel, National Grid; Shahana Samiullah, Southern California Edison
Publication Date: 2012

This paper explores ways in which program administrators are using social norms to spur behavior change and, as a result, curb energy use. In recent years, home energy reports (HER) programs have applied the concept of social norms to the energy efficiency context. These feedback programs inform customers of how their energy consumption compares to their neighbors' and provide other information about their usage, with the goal of enticing customers to change their energy use behavior to improve their relative neighborhood ranking.