Making "Energy-saving strategies": Using a cue offering interface

Abstract

Mass consumption of energy is a big problem. Energy-saving activities which are a solution to this problem have been attracting a lot of attention. Nevertheless, in order to engage in thorough energy-saving activities, consumers need support; on the other hand, even with support, the effects seem to be only temporary. In this paper, to obtain a long-term effect, we focus on developing a method to raise consumers' awareness about energy-saving behavior. To this end, we designed an interface which offers consumers the cue to think about energy-saving activities and conducted a 2week-experiment using the interface with 10 participants. The results suggest two things. First, offering cues increases the number of the energy-saving activities. Second, the more times they perform an activity, the less likely it is that they will change their way of thinking about the activity as time passes. We discuss a more effective method of helping consumers create energy-saving strategies.