The Power of Measurement
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.18.08
Fact is, the pointy-haired boss is right; when it comes to changing people's habits and saving energy, measurement and feedback make all the difference. Andrew Savitz at the Triple Bottom Line notes that when his wife drives her Prius, she sets the display on fuel economy, and because of the direct feedback of information on miles per gallon, adjusts her driving patterns accordingly. The Economist noted this as well:
"WHEN a car has a fuel-efficiency gauge—a continuous display on the dashboard showing the rate of fuel consumption—it tends to promote frugal driving. Trying to use as little fuel as you can, by driving more smoothly and being a little less heavy on the accelerator, can even become a game of sorts. Nissan, a Japanese carmaker, has calculated that fuel-efficiency gauges can reduce fuel consumption by an average of 10%, so it has decided to put them in all its cars."
The Economist then asks the question:
"What if you did the same thing to houses? A variety of products can provide real-time information about electricity consumption. Working out how much energy a house is using is harder than with a car, because electricity meters are generally hidden away in cupboards or cellars, and many people find them hard to understand. So an easily understood real-time read-out, akin to a car's fuel-efficiency gauge, could make a big difference."
It concludes:
"No doubt some of the novelty of monitoring your power consumption will wear off, but the evidence from fuel-efficiency gauges in cars suggests that when something clearly shows people how to save money, they will follow its advice." ::Economist
Currently, I could plug a 1W phone charger or a 1500W heater into any socket, and it would work. It would just work.
Take this 'illusion' away, and I feel we would see a much more responsible attitude towards our personal energy use. At present I don't think we can really blame people for being ignorant - the system is designed that way.
Of course being fully aware of consequences makes you change your actions, duh.
If Americans just used a simple spreadsheet to understand their incomes and expenses, it's unlikely there would have been a subprime mortgage meltdown, and a negative savings rate in the US.
It's fun watching your accounts grow, and painful to see them shrink.
When I first test drove a Camry hybrid, i had a hard time keeping my eyes off the instant gas usage guage. I was shocked to see how (even in a hybrid) my use rocketed when I accelerated quickly (as had become my habit). Within a few miles i had adjusted my starts to keep usage to a minimum without incurring the wrath of other drivers. I know for a fact this guage couldve been in a non hybrid and it wouldve immediately changed my driving style.
I bought the hybrid.