A Demonstration of an Energy Feedback Research Platform in a Field Study of Real-Time Social Comparisons

A Demonstration of an Energy Feedback Research Platform in a Field Study of Real-Time Social Comparisons Kevin Trinh, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada Alan Fung, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada Vera Straka, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada ABSTRACT This paper presents the design and demonstration of an energy feedback research platform using an Internet of Things approach with free and open-source software. Implemented in a rental multi-unit residential building (MURB) in Toronto, Canada, the feedback platform was a central component of an energy conservation program and field study examining the efficacy of near-real-time feedback and social comparisons. A preliminary analysis of the results showed a significant effect of the conservation program with a relative year-over-year, weather- normalized savings of approximately 11%. Additionally, a 3.5% improvement in savings was observed with the provision of real-time social comparison data. While this improvement was not statistically significant, it may still be worth pursuing in a utility-scale implementation as there would be relatively low incremental implementation cost. INTRODUCTION Research in energy conservation behaviours for building inhabitants burgeoned during the 1970’s energy crisis to reduce dependence on foreign oil. As climate change has emerged on the political agenda in recent years, energy conservation has also regained traction; and is now acknowledged as perhaps the most cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (IEA, 2010). In the field of residential energy conservation, providing tenants with feedback on their energy use has been demonstrated as an effective intervention with savings ranging from 4-12% (Ehrhardt-Martinez, Donnelly, & Laitner, 2010). When considering that Canadian residential sector consumes 410 TWh of energy per year (Government of Canada, 2012), a 4-12% savings amounts to approximately 16-49 TWh. In Toronto, Canada, the current flat-rate, marginal price for delivered electricity is approximately 0.14 $/kWh. This means with feedback, there is a potential to collectively save residential consumers $2.3B to $7.0B. In addition to the political and social influences on energy conservation research, technological advances have also enabled new ways to promote conservation, with feedback as a key strategy. In the past several years, on the strength of the smart grid technology and advanced metering infrastructure, industry has produced many feedback instruments on the market. These have ranged from smart bills, in-home displays, to web-based portals. Figure 1 shows an example in each of these categories.