Preferences Regarding a Web-Based, Neighborhood-Level Intervention Program to Promote Household Energy Conservation

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate people’s willingness to participate in and their preferences regarding a web-based, neighborhood-level energy conservation program. We created a hypothetical program that incorporates several intervention strategies and presented it to 715 respondents in the form of a stated choice experiment. A strong majority of participants indicated that they would be willing to join such a program. Their preferences as to how the program should be constructed reflected interest in personalized feedback, privacy protection, monetary incentives for reducing energy use, and a relatively short-term initial commitment. However, there was variation in people’s taste for such attributes. We conclude with reflections on how to design and implement a web-based intervention program and on future research possibilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Intervention program
• energy consumption reduction
• web-based platform
• stated choice experiment
• energy information sharing
• information systems

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on Contributors

Gamze Dane is an assistant professor in the Information Systems in the Built Environment (ISBE) Group at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.

Jinhee Kim is an assistant professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Engineering of Yonsei University, Korea.

Dujuan Yang is an assistant professor in the Information Systems in the Built Environment (ISBE) Group at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.