An experimental analysis of electricity conservation procedures.

Four families got a note on the front door every day. The note showed yesterday’s kilowatt-hours and the dollar cost. Some days the note also had a short slogan like “Save energy today.”

The researchers turned the notes on and off in an ABAB pattern. They read the home electric meter each morning to see if power use changed.

When the notes were posted, electricity dropped about one-third. When the notes stopped, use went back up. The drop returned when the notes came back, showing the notes caused the change.

Annable et al. (1979) ran a similar test but had people read their own meter instead of getting a door note. Self-monitoring still saved power, only the saving was smaller and lasted months after staff left.

Van der Molen et al. (2010) added small rewards to the same prompt-plus-feedback package in a college dorm. The extra rewards kept the 15 % saving even with busy young adults.

Pandey et al. (2016) moved the idea online, emailing prompts and energy dashboards to whole campus buildings. They did not report final numbers, but the method shows the 1977 trick still works in digital form.

You can cut problem behavior with simple feedback loops. The same rule works for electricity. Try posting one clear number the client can see every day — kilowatt-hours, minutes on task, or rate of tantrums. When the measure is visible and daily, change happens fast and reverses when you remove it, giving you clean proof your intervention is working.