Conference Agenda

Using information feedback to influence electricity consumption behavior is a key approach under the "nudge" theory to promote energy conservation, reduce emissions, and mitigate climate change. While extensive research has demonstrated the effectiveness of information interventions in encouraging energy-saving behaviors, most studies have focused on private settings, such as households, where individuals bear the cost of electricity. In contrast, public settings—where users do not directly pay for electricity—remain underexplored. It is thus unclear which type of information intervention is most effective in promoting energy conservation in public settings and how the same intervention might yield different behavioral responses in public versus private contexts.

This study leverages the unique dormitory electricity consumption structure at Sichuan University to design a randomized field experiment and employs a difference-in-differences approach to examine the effects of three types of information interventions—ranking feedback, social norm feedback, and combined feedback—on students’ electricity usage in both public and private settings. The findings reveal significant contextual differences in the effectiveness of these interventions. In public settings, providing anticipated electricity consumption feedback encourages individuals to conserve energy, particularly when they recognize discrepancies between their behavior and social expectations. In private settings, combined feedback incorporating both ranking and anticipated consumption proves most effective in reducing electricity use. Additionally, the effectiveness of each intervention varies based on individuals’ environmental beliefs, highlighting the importance of personalized feedback in energy conservation strategies.

Furthermore, this study estimates the economic, social, and environmental benefits of effective information interventions. In the optimal scenario, student dormitories at Sichuan University's Wangjiang Campus could save approximately 285,000 kWh of electricity annually, reducing electricity costs by 1.556 million CNY and cutting carbon emissions by 408.6 tons of CO₂—equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of approximately 18,572 mature trees (a small to medium-sized forest). Overall, this research provides critical insights for designing targeted energy-saving interventions across different contexts, encouraging broader adoption of information feedback strategies to reduce energy waste, promote sustainable behaviors, and protect the environment.