IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2014 - 45

information about energy use or
availability of extra energy.

Social Contexts
Individual (and household) decisions are never made in a vacuum -
the social context very often drives
energy related behavior. People are
often aware that any pro-environmental actions they may undertake
are only meaningful if others are
contributing. This may lead to the
so-called drop-in-a-bucket effect
[17] wherein a person may refrain
from any effort because they might
think it futile. In another scenario,
a person might choose inaction in
fear of being the only one contributing (the "sucker effect", [18]).
In general, people strive to have
an accurate evaluation of themselves. Since objective evaluation
criteria are rare, individuals often
use social comparison to arrive at
an appropriate appraisal. Therefore, social approval and social
recognition are sought after for
their own sake, rather than for any
future benefits they might bring
[19]. This way social norms drive
individual behavior - people act
in a way that is socially acceptable and avoid behaviors that lead
to disapproval.
Therefore, pro-environmental
social norms are one of the strongest drivers of energy conservation.
Very often it is enough to inform
individuals of the average energy
usage to influence their behavior (i.e., provide descriptive social
norms) [2]. Cialdini and colleagues -
a leading research group in the area
of social underpinnings of proenvironmental behavior - argue
that social influence and social
norms are often overlooked by
stakeholders [20]-[22]. By making
public the data concerning energy
use in a region, energy providers
may influence consumer behavior. However, there might be some
unintended effects - those who are
below the average in their energy
usage may decide to increase it,
viewing such behavior as socially

fair ("boomerang effect"). Including injunctive social norms in the
message (i.e., telling individuals
what is approved of and what not)
cancels this negative outcome [23].
Social comparison with abstract
"others" is one aspect of the role of
social context in energy conservation decisions. If the "others" are
more real, the social context plays
an even bigger role. From this perspective, the potential of smart
meter data being made accessible
to the consumer is especially interesting. The consumer may decide
to share his or her data concerning
patterns of energy use with others in the community or with the
general public. Commitment, especially made in public (i.e., making
public declarations of energy savings), proves to be very motivating

the daily pattern of available energy
are already in place. As mentioned
above, however, economic incentives do not effectively change patterns of energy use. Other types of
motivation, such as norms, values
and self-perception, are likely to be
more effective in enticing individuals to use green energy or to leave a
smaller energy footprint.
Electricity comes from various
sources. Specifically, it may have
renewable components such as
wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal.
The amount of renewable (green)
energy varies during the day and
usually the peak of the green
energy is not aligned with the peak
of the demand. For regions relying
mostly on solar panels for green
energy, for example, the green peak
is around noon, when the sunlight

A variety of psychological and
social variables, together with
technology development and
adoption, are responsible for
energy-related choices.
to long-lasting changes in one's
energy related behaviors [2].
Another advantage of a more
real social context comes from
taking collective (group) decisions
about energy saving. Groups take
less self-centered decisions than
individuals and have more diverse
information and knowledge about
the issue [24]. Solutions where
groups of users collectively buy
energy and make decisions concerning the shared use of the common resource is likely to lead to
changing patterns of use and savings of energy.

Users Choose Green Energy
by Changing their Daily
Usage Patterns
Equally important to energy reduction is the daily pattern of electricity usage. In principle, economic
incentives to align energy use with

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

FALL 2014

is the strongest. If the consumer
uses the energy mostly during the
green peak, the percentage of the
green energy in their total consumption of energy is higher than
when they use the energy at other
times of the day. The core idea
behind the project "UseGreenEnergy.Today", proposed by Jacek
Szamrej, is allowing the consumer
to control the amount of green
energy he or she uses by adjusting
usage patterns during the day.
The aim of the project is to
develop a platform that gives users
feedback concerning the percentage
of green energy in their own energy
consumption. The feedback (posted
online by the electricity provider)
consists of momentary percentage
of green energy in the total delivered
energy, but does not inform the user
about the total amount of energy
used. The application also informs
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2014