Normative Feedback Based Energy Conservation Behaviors

Worldwidely speaking,in the field of behavior based energy efficiency programs,the normative feedback approach has emerged as not only a cost-effective solution to obtain desired energy savings,but also a novel research area of environment and behavior.While in china,this area is almost entirely unexplored.Although some attentions have been paid to similar research and applications in the United States,few of them can be referred as reference.Specifically,studies regarding the theoretical analysis of the relationship between environment and behavior,individual's energysaving behavior pattern and its factors,experiment and simulation of normative feedback intervention are inadequate.Therefore,based on Lewin's field theory,behavior dynamics and social norms theory,this dissertation carried out in depth analysis of the energy-saving behavioral pattern in the normative feedback context through field experiment as well as the agent-based modeling and simulation.Targeting energy conservation,the results illustrate that the application of normative feedback approach is promising to achieve full potential of energy savings.The dissertation has contributed to several aspects as following:1.Aimed to study the energy conservation behavior driven by normative feedback,the dissertation discusses the intension and extension of the environment?behavior and intervention,and explores the correlation among each other.Particularly,it demonstrates a method to describe field forces retained in behavioral conflict,thus,establish a normative feedback based behavior pattern.Our work is a theoretical broaden of Lewin's field theory.This study also comes up with four kinds of regulatory mechanisms: the consistency between attitude and environmental behavior,the consistency between motivation and environmental behavior,the consistency between normative feedback and environmental behavior,the consistency between incentive policy and environmental behavior.In addition,by using ? divergence to identity dynamic characteristics of interference,this dissertation analyzed to what extend the random feature would affect the behavior output.2.Targeting energy conservation behavior,the inter-discipline research based on environment-behavior studies and psychology are sophisticated,while unfortunately,few attention has been paid to this area.Considering the uncertainty linear time-variant system,external interference and optimal control,this dissertation proposes an improved opinion dynamics model,the modified Deffuant model.This model is build on the basis of the agent-based modeling,environmental-behavior theory and psychology.As a result,the dissertation illustrates the dynamics of individual behaviors,and the group characteristics as well.What's more,the optimal strategy under group correction pattern is discussed,and the stability of the system under interference is investigated using the theory of robust optimization.3.Based on an experiment conducted at the Joint Base Andrews in the Unite States,this dissertation demonstrates that normative feedback approach can lead to significant energy savings,even when residents were not billed for their electricity usage.This result can contribute to the theoretical and practical aspects of energy conservation programs.Through the analysis of covariance,this study evaluates the effects of the different proximities of comparison and reached the viewpoint that the street comparison level can generate the most energy savings.In particular,this paper also explored and defined the relationship between the electricity savings and physical circumstances factors including house size,unit type,neighborhood and cooling degree days difference from June.This was done to achieve the full potential of energy savings using the normative feedback approach.4.This study presents an agent-based modeling and simulation approach aimed to improve the nationally popular and deep-seated benchmark setting strategy for normative feedback used in home energy reports.In particular,by introducing the Big Five Personality Traits,this dissertation defines various behavioral zones in accordance with people's personality traits of openness,and proposes a method that can classify the population into six categories,namely effective altruists,socially outgoing people,easing-going people,adaptive people,traditionalists and extremely resolute believers.In addition,a new customized energy reporting mechanism driven by personality traits has been proposed.Most importantly,by introducing the modified Deffuant model with optimal control,the improved approach can ideally produce massive energy savings for all types of people,even for the extremely resolute believers.