Empirical Experiments for Smartphone App Energy Conservation Services Targeting Residential Sectors: The Energy Conservation Effect in Winter 2017

Abstract

The so-called ‘nudge’ approach, which gently prompts people to make better choices without restricting their freedom of choice, is coined in behavioral economics and is drawing attention in energy conservation in residential sectors. Utilizing a smartphone app as a simplified Home Energy Management System (HEMS) and sending push notifications in each user’s customized timing could be a flexible and efficient nudge for energy conservation. In the winter of 2017, we conducted interventions to provide feedback of each customer’s energy consumption or recommendations about electric appliances’ settings using the smartphone app. Analyzing a series of qualitative and quantitative data from the respondents, we show how the framework can promote energy conservation behaviors.