Do households conserve electricity when they receive signals of greater consumption than neighbours? The Korean case

This study examines whether households are encouraged to conserve electricity when their monthly utility statements indicate that their electricity usage is higher than that of their neighbours. A difference-in-differences analysis for 1161 Korean apartment households from 2016 to 2017 shows that the conservation effect appears only for those in medium-sized housing units. An eye-tracking experiment suggests a reason for this limited conservation effect: the average gazing time for the section of the statement that compares electricity usage across neighbouring households is lesser than the gazing time for other sections, indicating little interest in the information. We discuss this in the context of shared mental models that can guide people to consider social norms as context for their individual energy usage.