The Power of Design: Product Innovation in Sustainable Energy Technologies

4.5 Approaches to Using Social Interaction in Relation to Energy-Related Behavior

To illustrate how social interaction and community-based approaches can be used to influence energy-related behavior. The following sections provide some examples.

4.5.1 Interventions Using Interactions between Participants

EcoTeams

The EcoTeam Program was devised in the 1990s. EcoTeams were small groups of people (e.g., neighbors, friends, and family) who came together once every month to exchange information about energy-saving options. Additionally they received information about pro-environmental behavior and feedback about their own energy savings, as well as the savings of other EcoTeams. The approach proved to be successful in reducing energy consumption in several domains, both shortly after the program and during a follow-up of 2 years.

In terms of energy consumption, the program resulted in 20.5% savings on gas use and 4.6% on electricity use. Two years later, the savings were 16.9% for gas use and 7.6% for electricity use (Staats, Harland, and Wilke, 2004). The program thus resulted in significant energy saving. Since the program consisted of a combination of interventions (information, feedback, and social support), it was difficult to attribute the role of individual elements to its success. Potential contributions to the intervention's success can, however, be supported by several studies investigating the impact of social interaction on behavior (Hopper and Nielsen, 1991; Lewin, 1947; ...