Goal Conflict and User Experience: Moderators to the Use of the Clock Thermostat as a Device to Support Conservation Behavior

摘要

Programming clock thermostat settings involves no financial cost to the consumer and requires little effort, making it a feasible target behavior for increasing energy efficiency through automatic control of temperature setbacks according to time of day and activities of the residents. Goal setting theory was previously used as a framework to experimentally test the energy saving effects of goal and information specificity and user experience on planning a programming strategy and the resulting projected energy use. Users who had never owned a clock thermostat projected significantly higher savings than users who already had a programmable thermostat. An experiment was designed to test whether conflict in comfort and conservation goals between household members moderated thermostat conservation behavior. Using only individuals who did not own a clock thermostat one group was asked to consider other household members. This group saved significantly less energy supporting the hypothesis that goal conflict between household members is a moderator of conservation behavior. Results are discussed in terms of implications for energy conservation programs to change thermostat behavior.