Sydney, Jan 19 (Inditop.com) Simple tools like shower timers, night lights and energy use meters can prompt people to use less energy, research shows.
The results of a two-year research project by Charles Sturt University (CSU) show that introducing shower timers, night lights and energy use meters does make a difference.
“The research does show that fairly simple tools have the capacity to change people’s energy use behaviour,” says CSU social scientist Rosemary Black.
“Some of the social marketing tools we used with the students would be useful in influencing people to use less energy,” adds Black.
The project, based at the University campus at Wagga Wagga, involved testing three strategies on 380 students, living in its 47 residential cottages.
One was the installation of in-house digital display meters – so-called ‘ecometers’ that gave instantaneous feedback on power consumption.
The meters could also show students their past electricity use, say from the preceding day or week. Students were also able to work out which electrical appliances were using the most energy, something that fascinated them, says Black.
The second strategy was the use of social marketing to develop population specific tools such as posters, shower timers, night lights and thermometers.
The third strategy was a combination of the ecometers and social marketing. The project ran from 2007-2009 with the data collected over six months, said a CSU release.
Black said all three strategies worked to differing degrees. Where the ecometers were installed, the students used 22 to 26 percent less power; where the social marketing tools were introduced, they used 17 to 28 percent less power and where both approaches were used, they used 22 to 26 percent less power.
