E-Mailed Prompts and Feedback Messages to Reduce Energy Consumption: Testing Mechanisms for Behavior Change by Employees at a Green University
E-mail can deliver the same prompt-plus-feedback package that once required paper signs.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pandey and colleagues sent weekly e-mail nudges to staff in five university buildings.
Each message showed the building’s live energy dashboard and a short prompt to save power.
A multiple-baseline design staggered the e-mails across buildings to see if use dropped.
What they found
The abstract does not say whether electricity went down.
It only reports that the e-mail system ran smoothly and dashboards stayed visible.
How this fits with other research
Davol et al. (1977) got families to cut home power 35 % with door-side notes and daily feedback.
Staats et al. (2000) later showed posted prompts in offices still saved energy one year later.
Van der Molen et al. (2010) added small rewards and achieved about 15 % savings in a college dorm.
Together these studies show prompts plus feedback work; Pandey et al. (2016) simply swaps paper for e-mail.
Why it matters
You already know prompts and feedback change behavior. This paper shows you can deliver them by e-mail instead of paper signs. No printing, no walking the halls, just scheduled messages and a live dashboard. If your facility tracks energy data, try adding a weekly e-mail prompt next month and watch the trend line.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
E-mail is a common mechanism for communication within organizations. Extending prior research on effects of informational messages on behavior change, the present study evaluated effects of e-mailed prompts and feedback on energy consumption at a green university. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of messages to occupants of 5 campus buildings over a period of 12 weeks. Energy consumption changes were tracked using the university’s energy dashboard. Results and implications for further research and organizational behavior change efforts are discussed.
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 2016 · doi:10.1080/01608061.2016.1201034