Tailor-Made Feedback to Reduce Residential Electricity Consumption: The Effect of Information on Household Lifestyle in Japan

Residential smart metering and energy feedback have attracted worldwide attention toward reducing energy consumption and building a sustainable society. Many theoretical studies have suggested the importance of personalized information; however, few feedback demonstrations have focused on household lifestyle. This paper presents a pilot program of energy feedback reports based on analytical methods to show the relationship between electricity consumption and household lifestyle in Japan. One type of report was for households with a night-oriented lifestyle, which were classified by means of frequency analysis; it was evident that such households should shift to a healthy, environmentally friendly, morning-oriented lifestyle. Another type of report was based on cluster analysis: it pinpointed the dates and times when the household consumed much more electricity than with its regular routine. Through panel data regression analysis, it was found that the reports contributed to reducing daily household electricity consumption—as long as a boomerang effect could be avoided. It was also found that the feedback effect was enhanced by activation of consciousness, norms, and motives. It was observed that activation required a good understanding of the characteristics of electricity consumption and lifestyles of each household.