Evidence from Two Large Field Experiments that Peer Comparison Feedback Can Reduce Residential Energy Usage
01 Oct 2013-Journal of Law Economics & Organization (Oxford University Press)-Vol. 29, Iss: 5, pp 992-1022
TL;DR: Ayres et al. as discussed by the authors showed that feedback from peers can reduce the usage of residential energy in the United States by reducing the use of coal and natural gas in the US.
Abstract: NBER WORKING PAPER SERIESEVIDENCE FROM TWO LARGE FIELD EXPERIMENTS THAT PEER COMPARISONFEEDBACK CAN REDUCE RESIDENTIAL ENERGY USAGEIan AyresSophie RasemanAlice ShihWorking Paper 15386http://www.nber.org/papers/w15386NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH1050 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02138September 2009Special thanks to Tyler Curtis and Alex Laskey from Positive Energy/oPower for contributing criticismto earlier drafts. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflectthe views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.© 2009 by Ian Ayres, Sophie Raseman, and Alice Shih. All rights reserved. Short sections of text,not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit,including © notice, is given to the source.
Figures (9)
Table 3: PSE OLS regression of natural log of kWh/day, therms/day, CEU/day clustering on household id kWh/day 
Figure 9: PSE Treatment Effect by Monthly vs Quarterly 
Figure 3: SMUD Treatment Effect (% change in Kwh) by templates/envelopes 
Table 4: PSE Projected Cost Savings and Environmental Impact 
Table 2: SMUD Projected Cost Savings and Environmental Impact 
Figure 1: SMUD Treatment Effect (% change in kWh - without controls) 
Figure 10a: PSE Treatment Effect (% change in kWh and therms)Monthly recipients 
Figure 10a: PSE Treatment Effect (% change in kWh and therms)Monthly recipients 
Table 1: SMUD OLS Regression of log household monthly average kWh/day, clustering on household id
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