Long-term influence of the design of energy management systems on lowering household energy consumption

摘要

Several studies have shown that real-time feedback by energy management systems (EMSs) supports households' energy-saving behaviours by making the relationship between daily activities and energy use more clear. However, acquired savings vary, which may be caused by variations in the design of EMSs. In this paper, we investigate the influence of the design of EMS in a longitudinal field study among a large group of Dutch households. Two EMSs with different designs are compared with a control condition to explore their effects on domestic electricity and gas consumption. Our findings demonstrate that merely providing real-time feedback is insufficient to promote sustainable energy-saving behaviours. Only one of the two EMSs resulted in significant energy savings in comparison with the control condition. As our results indicate, energy savings are supported by use frequency of the EMS. To stimulate frequent usage of an EMS, and thus the desired sustainable energy-saving behaviours, the EMS should be designed for high accessibility and ease of use.