Effectiveness of a task-based residential energy efficiency program in Oahu

Abstract

Energy wasted in buildings is a major fraction of total energy wasted in today's cities. Most people are not aware of inefficiencies and energy wasted in their homes. Making people aware about energy wasted in their homes and inefficiencies in their energy consumption behaviors could contribute to large energy savings at the city scale. Many energy-saving programs, run by the governments, non-profits, or utilities, are designed to help people improve their energy efficiency at homes by providing feedback. The critical factor in the effectiveness of energy saving programs is user engagement Best energy saving tips will not save noticeable energy if users do not use those tips. In this project, we design several intentionally simple energy-saving activities with a goal to help citizens understand how they use energy and find ways to save energy. To evaluate the effectiveness of proposed energy-saving guidelines, 740 volunteers at Oahu, Hawaii are provided smart meters and are asked to follow proposed activities in their daily life. Results from the program indicate that our program helps users reduce their bill by 2.83%, which is comparable with similar programs but the simplicity of our proposed energy saving activities boosted up participation rate to 35%.