Energy Efficiency Merits More Than a Nudge

In their Policy Forum (“Behavior and energy policy,” 5 March, p. [1204][1]), H. Allcott and S. Mullainathan identify an important opportunity for reducing energy consumption inexpensively by applying behavioral science. Even larger opportunities can be realized, however, by combining behavioral interventions with other policy tools to address a wider range of behaviors. The field policy experiments cited by the authors use behavioral “nudges” to change home equipment use. The full potential of behavioral interventions comes from inducing people to adopt energy-efficient technology. More than 30 years of social and behavioral science research on household energy consumption demonstrates the power of combining behaviorally sensitive features—such as norms, social influence networks, and attention to convenience and quality assurance in program design—with financial incentives and information ([ 1 ][2]–[ 4 ][3]). This can make a huge difference in effectiveness for efficiency programs. For example, a utility grant program that paid for over 90% of home retrofit costs achieved penetration that ranged from 1.4 to 19.3% per year, depending on how the program was implemented ([ 5 ][4]). The strongest programs have the potential to achieve behavioral plasticity (i.e., the percentage of people who could make a choice who actually do so) of 80 to 90% for adoption of energy-efficient equipment over 10 years ([ 6 ][5]). If implemented across equipment classes and scaled up nationally, such programs could reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 123 million tons of carbon (MtC) ([ 6 ][5]). This is far greater than the national savings of 12.7 MtC estimated for the program in the Policy Forum. 1. [↵][6] 1. P. C. Stern, 2. G. T. Gardner , Am. Psychol. 36, 329 (1981). [OpenUrl][7][CrossRef][8] 2. National Research Council (NRC), Energy Use: The Human Dimension (Freeman, New York, 1984). 3. NRC, Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Behavioral Issues (National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1985). 4. [↵][9] 1. G. T. Gardner, 2. P. C. Stern , Environmental Problems and Human Behavior (Pearson Custom Publishing, Boston, ed. 2, 2002). 5. [↵][10] 1. P. C. Stern 2. et al ., Eval. Rev. 10, 147 (1986). [OpenUrl][11][Abstract/FREE Full Text][12] 6. [↵][13] 1. T. Dietz 2. et al ., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 18452 (2009). [OpenUrl][14][Abstract/FREE Full Text][15] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1180775 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-4 [4]: #ref-5 [5]: #ref-6 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [7]: {openurl}?query=rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1037%252F0003-066X.36.4.329%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [8]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1037/0003-066X.36.4.329&link_type=DOI [9]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text" [10]: #xref-ref-5-1 "View reference 5 in text" [11]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DEvaluation%2BReview%26rft.stitle%253DEval%2BRev%26rft.issn%253D0193-841X%26rft.aulast%253DStern%26rft.auinit1%253DP.%2BC.%26rft.volume%253D10%26rft.issue%253D2%26rft.spage%253D147%26rft.epage%253D176%26rft.atitle%253DThe%2BEffectiveness%2Bof%2BIncentives%2Bfor%2BResidential%2BEnergy%2BConservation%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1177%252F0193841X8601000201%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [12]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6NToic3BlcngiO3M6NToicmVzaWQiO3M6ODoiMTAvMi8xNDciO3M6NDoiYXRvbSI7czoyMjoiL3NjaS8zMjgvNTk3Ni8zMDguYXRvbSI7fXM6ODoiZnJhZ21lbnQiO3M6MDoiIjt9 [13]: #xref-ref-6-1 "View reference 6 in text" [14]: {openurl}?query=rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1073%252Fpnas.0908738106%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F19858494%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [15]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6NDoicG5hcyI7czo1OiJyZXNpZCI7czoxMjoiMTA2LzQ0LzE4NDUyIjtzOjQ6ImF0b20iO3M6MjI6Ii9zY2kvMzI4LzU5NzYvMzA4LmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ==