Document Type
Article
Publication Title
PloS One
Department
Psychology
ISSN
19326203
Volume
17
Issue
7
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0268879
First Page
1
Last Page
18
Publication Date
7-5-2022
Abstract
A key component of behavior-based energy conservation programs is the identification of target behaviors. A common approach is to target behaviors with the greatest energy-saving potential. The concept of behavioral spillover introduces further considerations, namely that adoption of one energy-saving behavior may increase (or decrease) the likelihood of other energy-saving behaviors. This research aimed to identify and describe household energyand water-saving measure classes within which positive spillover is likely to occur (e.g., adoption of energy-efficient appliances may correlate with adoption of water-efficient appliances), and explore demographic and psychographic predictors of each. Nearly 1,000 households in a California city were surveyed and asked to report whether they had adopted 75 different energy- and/or water-saving measures. Principal Component Analysis and Network Analysis based on correlations between adoption of these diverse measures revealed and characterized eight water-energy-saving measure classes: Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, Maintenance and Management, Efficient Appliance, Advanced Efficiency, Efficient Irrigation, Green Gardening, and Green Landscaping. Understanding these measure classes can help guide behavior-based energy program developers in selecting target behaviors and designing interventions.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Sanguinetti, Angela; McIlvennie, Claire; Pritoni, Marco; and Schneider, Susan, "Two (or more) for one: Identifying classes of household energy- and water-saving measures to understand the potential for positive spillover" (2022). Pacific Faculty Work. 216.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/all-faculty/216
