Behaviour, context and electricity use: Exploring the effects of real-time feedback in the Swedish residential sector

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the effectiveness of real-time feedback technology in the Swedish residential sector. We take the ‘100Koll’ service provided by one the largest energy companies in Sweden as a case study. Based on an intervention group (i.e. people using the service) of 1 753 households, a survey was carried out to explore behavioural, moral, socio-economic and contextual variables affecting electricity consumption and savings, and the effectiveness of the 100Koll service. Data was collected from January 2011 to April 2015 and both engineering and econometrics analyses were applied. Results show a fall in consumption in the range of 1.4–1.9%. In principle, this finding is better explained by socio-economic and contextual factors (e.g. household size) than behavioural and moral issues. However, those households with greater perceived behavioural control and a greater sense of moral obligation were the ones that actually reduced their consumption. It is concluded that the implementation of real-time feedback per se is likely to be insufficient to foster increased energy efficiency. Complementary policy measures (e.g. energy and carbon pricing, awareness raising) need to be designed and implemented accordingly.