Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/213481 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IRENE Working Paper No. 19-06
Publisher: 
University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Economic Research (IRENE), Neuchâtel
Abstract: 
This field experiment quantifies the impact of social norm information on the demand for indoor temperature. Based on high-frequency data from indoor temperature monitors, we provide participating households with a comparison of average temperature in their apartments relative to that measured in a control group. For more than 90 percent of participants, financial benefits of energy savings are only indirect, as building-level heating costs are shared across apartments in proportion to their volume. Despite the associated collective action problem, we estimate that the intervention induces a -0.28 C reduction in average indoor temperature. This suggests that direct monetary incentives is not a pre-requisite for social comparison feedback to induce energy savings.
Subjects: 
Informational intervention
Monetary incentives
Energy saving
Social comparison feedback
Social norms
JEL: 
C91
D12
D62
D91
H41
Q41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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