Lights Out at MIT. A study in motivating and measuring energy-efficient behavior change"
by Josh Hester, MIT student. 17/07/09
Ponent:Josh HesterAbstract:With today’s concerns about climate change andeconomic recession, it is essential for every large business and organization to scale back on their energy consumption. While it is helpful to make new buildings as “green” as possible and it is possible to install more energy efficient fixtures and appliances in buildings, the most basic and direct method of reducing our energy consumption is to change our behavior. Something as simple as being more conscientious about turning off the lights can lead to significant savings. The Lights Out project is a pilot project in two of the buildings at MIT to determine the effectiveness of computermediated feedback mechanisms to cause this behavior change. Cameras were installed outside these buildings to monitor the overnight usage of lights, and a program was written to analyze the camera images and send weekly emails to each lab director with a summary of their lab’s energy usage. Initial data from September and October 2008 indicate that this feedback did led to some reductions in overnight lighting use. |