IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2014 - 44

behavior, e.g., in recycling [5] or
energy conservation [6]. Once
decision processes are moved from
ethical and moral issues to financial calculations, the benefits might
not be considered worth of the
effort required (reduction of energy
usage by half would result in savings in the range of tens of euros/
dollars per month, which might not
be enticing enough).
Energy related behaviors might
be dependent on previous choices.

the environment of one's energy
related choices are never directly
perceived [14]. More often than not
the only feedback one gets is statistical information and forecasts.
Such abstract and delayed feedback
rarely has any motivating effects.
Moreover, people generally feel
worse about bad effects of inappropriate actions than bad effects
of inaction (the so-called omission bias, [15]). Buying an efficient
water heater or air-conditioner

The traditional supply-side model
of energy generation and use
is changing rapidly.
People have a tendency for consistency in their behavior [10] - if
a person choses to reduce energy
usage they might perceive themselves as pro-environmentalist and
to maintain this perception they
might engage in further saving
behaviors. From this perspective,
any pro-environmental behavior
facilitates other pro-environmental
behaviors. Even behaviors that are
not rational from an economical
point of view, or that by themselves
do not have significant consequences, may be very important
because they pave the way for further involvement in environmentally responsible behaviors.
On the other hand, an energy
saving choice - by making one feel
good about oneself - might sometimes prompt one to indulge in other
activities that require high energy
use [11]. For example, buying a
hybrid engine car might make a person feel they have devoted enough
efforts to energy savings and prompt
him or her to drive more than they
would have otherwise. The so-called
single-action bias comes into play
when a person commits to a single
pro-environmental effort and deems
it sufficient [12].
Guilt can be a strong driver
of energy saving behavior [13].
However, any negative effects on
44

at any given moment might turn
out to be a bad decision if only a
month later a better model is available. The costs of inaction (i.e.,
using one's old appliance) are often
ignored. The definite decision not
to buy a more efficient appliance
is never taken, but such reasoning
leads to procrastination and decision deferral [16].
Smart energy meters represent
an especially important technical
innovation in the area of energy
use [7]. They measure momentary
use of energy and allow users to
(re)view that usage whenever they
choose, instead of receiving a bill
once a month. Moreover, they
allow the user to see variations in
price depending on the time when
the energy is used. The critical
question is who owns and who
has access to smart meter data.
Usually the data is fully owned
and controlled by the electricity
company and it is just used for
billing the customer. The reverse
connection may be used by the
company to turn off electricity in
selected households, or in some
cases to turn off selected devices
of the user in case of momentary
energy shortages. This raises
issues related to privacy and control. Detailed measurements of
momentary energy use can reveal

a lot of information about the user,
including which TV programs he
or she watches. The capacity to
turn off energy in selected houses,
or even to turn off selected devices
may be seen as too deep an invasion of privacy.
Handing control of the smart
meter data over to the user significantly changes the situation. First
of all, the user may have instantaneous feedback concerning how
much energy he or she uses at the
current moment. The immediacy of
feedback is one of the most important factors in deciding about its
effectiveness [8], [9]. It also allows
the user to experiment by turning
on and off different devices and
learning about how each device
impacts on the overall energy use.
Understanding the relationship
between different configurations
of working devices and the magnitude of energy use allows the user
to develop a mental model of the
energy system of the house. Once
such a model is developed, the user
may utilize the model to figure out
the pattern of time use of different
devices that will satisfy his or her
needs and that will be energy-efficient as well.
In order to increase the likelihood that a consumer will use the
information provided by the meter
it is important how this information is presented - the user interface. Smart phones may provide
the best interface for presenting
smart meter data. There is no need
to invest in novel displays if an
existing channel may be used to
communicate data on energy usage
and other important information
(current availability of energy,
percentage of green energy provided in the total amount of energy
produced at a given moment, possible blackouts, etc.). What is
important is that all of this information may be available immediately regardless of the location of
the customer. This opens the possibility for remote control of the
devices at home in reaction to new

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

FALL 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2014