Applied Energy, Vol.114, 654-662, 2014
Development of the "Home Energy Conservation Support Program" and its effects on family behavior
The Home Energy Conservation Support Program in this study was developed by authors, available on the internet. This program was designed to promote residential energy conservation by encouraging family communication and rivalry against other families, and to get their energy consumption data sustainably for analysis. This paper describes the results of the program's performance evaluation through its implementation. The program members can obtain evaluation results about their energy consumption by inputting their monthly energy consumption data and also utilize the information obtained to save energy in the future. The estimated reduction rates in energy consumption of members suggest that the program has prompted energy-saving behavior among them, and that energy-saving for "lighting and electric appliances" is harder than for "heating". Additionally, this program demonstrated the possibility of sustained investigation on energy consumption characteristics. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.