Real-Time Feedback Helps Save Energy and Water

Study conducted by the Universities of Bonn and Bamberg shows that if a clever measuring system shows current water consumption, this immediately leads to increased efficiency in water and energy saving when showering on average by 22%.

How can the greatest amount of energy be saved when showering? For the three scholars from the Universities of Bamberg, Bonn and ETH Zürich, this concerns a very applied and also fundamental question of how resource-relevant behavioral changes can be brought about. In multiple experiments, a total of 700 one- and two-person households in Switzerland received intelligent systems from Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich (ewz) to measure their energy and water consumption when showering.

The measuring devices were fitted below the shower head. They allow water consumption, water temperature and energy use to be seen at a glance. “These smart systems give the agent direct feedback about the consequences of their own showering behavior,” reports Prof. Staake. The measuring devices recorded the showering behavior of the subjects for around two months. A randomly selected proportion of the subjects was able to track live on the display how much energy and water they had used since the start of their shower, while other participants were not shown this information.

If the test subjects received immediate feedback via the measuring systems, energy consumption when showering fell on average by 22 percent. For people who take long showers, the savings even came to almost 30 percent. In a further investigation, the researchers tested whether additional saving behavior occurs when the test subjects received subsequent feedback on their previous consumption. “This subsequent information resulted in virtually no additional effect,” says Dr. Verena Tiefenbeck.

Nevertheless, the study into shower use shows that lasting behavioral changes occurred during the two months of the experiment. Summarizing their findings, professors Götte and Staake say, “Even over the course of weeks, no desensitizing effects were seen among the subjects.” Dr. Tiefenbeck adds that “The desired saving effects were just as great at the end of the observation period as at the beginning.”

Source: University of Bonn

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