A behavioral analysis of peaking in residential electrical-energy consumers.
Feedback plus tiny cash payments cuts peak energy use in half, but the gain disappears the moment you remove either part.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team visited homes and installed a small meter. The meter showed real-time electricity use and cost.
Each family got a cash reward if they kept peak use low. The researchers then removed the meter and payments to see what happened.
What they found
Peak power use dropped about half while feedback and money were in place.
When the meter and payments stopped, families went right back to old habits.
How this fits with other research
Winters et al. (2026) saw the same crash in HIV care. Monthly cash kept patients coming, but visits vanished the day checks stopped.
Potter et al. (2013) stretched the idea to job training. Small payments doubled attendance for homeless adults while the money lasted.
Fournier et al. (2024) added goal charts and group bonuses to feedback plus cash. Exercise rose to healthy levels, yet the team still expects fade-out once prizes end.
Across four decades and four life domains, the story is identical: money plus feedback works fast, but behavior needs the package to stick.
Why it matters
If you run a token economy, plan for the crash. Keep the feedback device, taper the cash, or teach self-monitoring before you pull the plug. One quick move: leave the visual meter in the home and switch to intermittent praise to stretch maintenance.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study was concerned with "peaking", which is the tendency for electrical-energy users to consume at high rates for brief periods during the day. Peaking results in the inefficient use of generating facilities, which may lead to unfavorable effects on the environment, such as the construction of new energy producing facilities or the activation of older, less safe, generating units. A continuous data collection system to monitor consumption of electrical energy was installed in the homes of three volunteer families. Information, feedback, and incentives were evaluated for their effects on peak energy consumption. A combination of feedback plus incentives was most effective and reduced peaking about 50%. Removal of experimental treatments resulted in a return to pre-treatment patterns of consumption.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1976 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1976.9-13