Could “keeping up with the Joneses” be an approach to get America out of its energy rut? By mid-2009, especially with a world climate summit planned for December, the onus is upon us to rally large-scale momentum if we are to put the brakes on the disaster train we have made of our energy gluttony.
While the business of making new buildings more energy efficient and less wasteful is taking off, there is more to gain in optimizing the tens of millions of existing homes.
They do say that positive energy is the most powerful force in the world and a new company is running with that concept to encourage home efficiency in a friendly neighborhood way. Positive Energy has developed a platform to compare household energy use gleaned from utility company data of homes on the same street or block to show us how we measure up to our neighbors.
Intending to “engage 300 million Americans who are in the dark about their energy use,” Positive Energy applies numbers of smiley faces to low-energy consuming homes and none to only a few for homes consuming more than their neighborhood counterparts. The thought is for individuals to view their use against a community or society norm and either drive a low-consumption pattern or adjust to match such a standard.
While cost-savings are often touted as a reason to reduce energy use, Positive Energy has merged its technology and marketing with behavioral science to motivate homeowners on a peer level. Founded by innovators with degrees from Harvard University, MIT, Stanford University, Princeton University, Amherst College and Duke University, Positive Energy has brought social psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini on board as chief scientist. Dr. Cialdini has studied the psychology of influence as well as conservation and efficiency. He authored Influence: Science and Practice, a book detailing studies of the reasons people comply with requests in business.
Other companies are using monetary gain as a means to encourage changes in energy behaviors. MyEex and Earth Aid calculate any energy savings in a home, sell the carbon credit on the carbon market and pay the homeowner the revenue.
