Bright Ideas? How context and place matter for energy savings in urban India

Energy is a critical resource that we make decisions about on a daily basis. Think about turning off the lights before going to bed, or switching off appliances after use. Improved access to energy has been a crucial stepping stone toward the economic and social well-being of humanity, leading to a global upgrade in our living standards. However, unsustainable energy consumption becomes a significant cause of environmental pollution worldwide, especially in India, where access to electricity has grown from only 60% to nearly 100% in the last two decades alone. This begs the question: how can individuals contribute to reducing their own usage? 

Behavioral scientists have already attempted to design interventions that tackle the issue of energy overconsumption. One prominent approach is information-based solutions, such as feedback provision and goal setting, that nudge households to reduce their reliance. This class of interventions is highly dependent on providing timely and context-specific information about an individual's consumption. However, the way in which information is presented—whether that be a straightforward text with percentages or a funny meme—is pivotal in determining our response. What’s more is that our perception of interventions is subject to cognitive biases, leading to unexpected reactions across different contexts. 

We also currently don’t know much about how the placement of messages plays a role in encouraging energy-saving behaviors. Previous work in this domain suggests that energy-related interventions are especially effective when implemented in a way that minimizes the time, money, and effort required for individuals to respond to an intervention. Part of this comes from carefully altering the placement of intervention material, so that it is timely and salient for the decision-maker. Creating a reminder system for day-to-day activities to turn off appliances when not in use can help instill sustainable practices within homes—but only if they are timely (as the “T” from Sunstein’s FEAST framework suggests). For instance, imagine being cuddled up with your favorite book late into the night, only to receive a text reminder to turn off the lights in another room. Identifying which room, along with actually extracting yourself from your comfortable position, takes additional cognitive and physical effort, which decision-makers typically resist putting in. 

In sum, while it’s clear that reminders are critical, we don’t often know how and when to deliver them to activate desired behaviors. This leaves us wondering, What kind of reminders work best to get us to put effort into turning off the lights? Should the reminder come before we’re already settled in another room, or when we are just about to leave the room? 

Today, we’ll explore how the placement of interventions within decision environments is essential for nudging pro-environmental behaviors through a pilot study conducted among households in Pune city. Our study suggests that putting up posters inside the home, at places where it is easy for a resident to turn off a running appliance like air conditioners, is most effective at promoting energy-saving behavior.