SOCERGY: SOCial comparison for enERGY efficiency investment

Project Description

This research project aims to provide new insight on potential improvements to the energy labels for home electrical appliances. This project aims to identify whether behavioural nudges and peer comparison can guide greater investment in energy efficient appliances in Ireland. Behavioural nudges have the potential to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions and address the investment inefficiency. More specifically, a behavioural nudge that appears particularly promising is social comparison. This typically refers to the process of giving households information about their performance relative to that of comparable households. Given that information provision is underperforming both internationally and in an Irish context, behavioural nudges is a promising, yet unexplored, alternative. Social comparison nudges have not been coupled with energy labels. This project will fill this gap, exploring social comparison nudges as a complementary measure to energy labels, and whether this may be a viable method to overcome the energy efficiency gap in Ireland.