The Demand Side: Why energy users don't behave the way they are supposed to. Ronnie D. Lipschutz U.S.-DK Renewable Energy Workshop August 2016

Transcription

1 The Demand Side: Why energy users don't behave the way they are supposed to Ronnie D. Lipschutz U.S.-DK Renewable Energy Workshop August 2016

2 How do you use energy? A classroom exercise 1. Do you know how you use energy? 2. Do you pay your own power bills? 3. List the ways you use energy in a typical day. a. How long do you engage in each activity (minutes or hours)? b. How much energy is consumed? 4. Categorize each as follows: a. Conscious use b. Ancillary use (i.e., energy is used as a result of the activity) c. Non-conscious use (i.e., you are not aware of energy consumption) 5. What are the strongest determinants of household energy use?

3 An energy puzzle: why so much variance in energy end use? Grame-Hanssen, op. cit., p. 99, 100

4 Size of the house matters

5 Number of people matters

6 Grame- Hanssen, op. cit., p. 96 Income matters

7 Non-discretionary Discretionary Grame-Hanssen, op. cit., pp. 101

8 II. Why user energy behavior matters Buildings account for 35-40% of energy use Occupants influence various internal factors Building temperatures & variations Acquisition & installation of various devices Schedules of appliance operations Reducing energy use involves interventions Into technological systems Into incentives & disincentives Into user behaviors & practices

9 Ib. What do we need to know? Buildings differ greatly in energy terms Users differ greatly in behaviors What most shapes energy use: Technologies? Rationality & prices? Regulations & restrictions? Habits & practices? And which is most important for renewables & microgrids?

10 Ia. Why do we want this information? Reduce resource use Use resources efficiently Use resources to different ends "Resources" are consumed by people People consume resources in specific but different ways To change structures & behaviors, we need to know about both

11 II. Why user behaviors matter for renewable energy systems First objective: reduce energy demand as much as possible Second objective: match supply to reduced demand Third objective: socialize users to engage in conserving practices Fourth objective: provide users with a role in managing the microgrid (if they want)

12 III. Why technology can t manage energy user behaviors by itself Technological management envisions Control at a distance, e.g., smart grids Control via devices, e.g., Nest thermostats Energy-efficient systems & devices Users may tend to Resent & sabotage management at a distance Turn off or alter management systems Override energy efficiency features Use more as costs decline ("rebound effect")

13 IVa. People face a broad range of energy use needs, options & decisions: why do they act? Household-related energy consumption

14 IVb. Three models of human behavior 1. Rational actor model: People are rational cost-benefit calculators 2. Behavioral model: People respond to evolutionary & psychological factors (some of which may seem irrational) 3. Practice model: People engage in stylized, normal practices into which they have been socialized, which are appropriate & which people do

15 IVc. Limits to rational choice Assumes user is sensitive to energy costs S/he acts to minimize expenditures Timely information sends cost signal User will modify use to reduce consumption Not all users are economically rational Need to be very attentive to info signals Transaction costs may be too large Cost reductions may be small or non-existent Comfort may be more important than cost Sometimes called ABCD model: attitude, behavior, choice, decision

16 IVc. Behavioral models 1. Evolutionary: Preferences, choices, actions are driven by basic needs for survival warmth, light, etc. a. Survival requires minimal biological needs b. Humans have more complex choices & motivations, e.g., computer use 2. Psychology: Choices & actions are motivated by preferences, desires, emotions, subconscious, etc. a. These are endogenously driven b. Idiosyncratic to individuals c. Ignores social motivations & influences 3. Social practice theory is not specifically behavioral

17 Va. Social practices Energy consumption is not a practice in itself, but all the different things that people do at home which consume energy, such as cooking or washing, are practices and these are guided by different elements. Although it is the individuals who wash clothes in their homes, this practice must be understood as part of a collective structure in which some common rules are followed for what clothes washing actually involves. Kirsten Gram-Hanssen, New needs for better understanding of household s [sic] energy consumption behaviour, lifestyle or practices? Architectural Engineering and Design Management 10, #1 2 (2014): , cite on p. 94.

18 Vb. Contrasting assumptions from ABCD & social practice theories Conventional approach is ABC, from Elizabeth Shove: attitude, behavior, choice --rationality Energy uses are not (wholly) dependent upon individual (rational) behaviors Socially-normative appropriate actions and behaviors in relation to energy-producing and energy-using technologies and systems Source: Yolande Strengers (2012). Peak electricity demand and social practice theories: Reframing the role of change agents in the energy sector, Energy Policy 44: 228

19 VIa. How do social practices emerge? Behaviors are constrained choices Many behaviors are socially normative Others are learned or best practices These tend to be shared and Are not always rational or cost sensitive Examples Turning thermostat down at night Leaving computer on all day Washing clothes

20 VIb. Mapping laundry Figure 1: Clothes are worn, made dirty, washed HIGGINSON, S., MCKENNA, E. and THOMSON, M., Can practice make perfect (models)? Incorporating social practice theory into quantitative energy demand models. IN: Behave Paradigm Shift: From Energy Efficiency to Energy Reduction through Social Change, 3rd Behave Energy Conference, Oxford, UK, 3-4 September 2014, 17 pp.

21 Figure 2: Clothes have a life, collected, washed, dried, returned to life Figure 3: Clothes are used with images in mind, and via certain skills, which continue through the process

22 Figure 4: Clothes are generally worn for a specific purpose or in a particular context, through which they are made dirty. This purpose or context can be/often is external to the household but part of the laundry cycle.

23 Figure 5: Choosing clothes for purposes & contexts involves skills & images "changing the school culture would impact on lots of performances of laundry practice and so potentially has a very large impact, whereas changing the washing machine would only alter the laundry practice of the household in which that appliance was kept." (id., p. 13)

24 VIIa. Contrasting social theories & actions applied to the issue of peak electricity demand Source: Yolande Strengers (2012). Peak electricity demand and social practice theories: Reframing the role of change agents in the energy sector, Energy Policy 44: 229.

25 VIIb. Problems & difficulties with social practice approach 1. We can see how social practices change, but we don t know how to change them (e.g., social smoking, smart phones, recycling) 2. It is difficult, in interviews and from data, to identify what constitutes a social practice. 3. There is no clear method for developing interventions, and some say it cannot be done (so why bother?). 4. Advocates of nudging argue that signals, incentives, design can motivate changes in what individuals do

26 Additional reading Kirsten Gram-Hanssen (AAU), New needs for better understanding of household s [sic] energy consumption behaviour, lifestyle or practices? Architectural Engineering and Design Management 10, #1 2 (2014): Inge Røpke (AAU). "Theories of practice New inspiration for ecological economic studies on consumption," Ecological Economics 68 (2009) Gert Spaargaren. "Theories of practices: Agency, technology, and culture--exploring the relevance of practice theories for the governance of sustainable consumption practices in the new world-order," Global Environmental Change 21 (2011): Elizabeth Shove, "Transitions in Practice: Climate Change & Everyday Life," LBL-09, (n.d.) at: Catherine Butler, Karen A. Parkhill & Nicholas F. Pidgeon, Energy consumption and everyday life: Choice, value and agency through a practice theoretical lens, Journal of Consumer Culture, on-line Oct. 2014, at: Yolande Strengers (2012). Peak electricity demand and social practice theories: Reframing the role of change agents in the energy sector, Energy Policy 44: