Abstract
Energy labels are used worldwide to overcome the inefficiency in household energy use. Presenting energy efficiency in grade-like categories has been found to induce heuristic decision-making, known as the “class valuation effect”. This study investigates whether visualising energy efficiency using a continuous-scale label increases consumers’ consciousness when purchasing appliances. We examine this question in an online survey with randomised decision tasks conducted in China and the Netherlands. In the Dutch sample, the effectiveness of continuous-scale labels depends on individuals’ holistic cognitive tendency and the type of comparison they are faced with, whereas the Chinese sample is not sensitive to these moderators. Moreover, energy literacy shows mixed influence on individual decisions. Results suggest that representing energy efficiency on continuous scales can be used as supportive visual information to facilitate purchase decisions. Regarding energy education, knowledge that directly links to daily energy use seems to translate well into consumers’ conscious decisions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 106279 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Energy Economics |
| Volume | 114 |
| Early online date | 1 Sept 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We would like to thank PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the National Natural Science Foundation of China [ 72174097 ], and China Scholarship Council for their financial supports. We appreciate comments and suggestions from Bianca Vermeer, Fujin Zhou, Jantsje Mol, Katarzyna Negacz, Kees Vringer, Linh Nguyen, Mirthe Boomsma, and Peter Robinson in developing and translating the survey questionnaire. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the participants of SABE2020, PhD Conference in Behavioural Science and Policy, 6th BEHAVE, 1st online IAEE, and 26th EAERE for their valuable feedback, as well as highly constructive comments from an anonymous reviewer.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
Funding
We would like to thank PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the National Natural Science Foundation of China [ 72174097 ], and China Scholarship Council for their financial supports. We appreciate comments and suggestions from Bianca Vermeer, Fujin Zhou, Jantsje Mol, Katarzyna Negacz, Kees Vringer, Linh Nguyen, Mirthe Boomsma, and Peter Robinson in developing and translating the survey questionnaire. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the participants of SABE2020, PhD Conference in Behavioural Science and Policy, 6th BEHAVE, 1st online IAEE, and 26th EAERE for their valuable feedback, as well as highly constructive comments from an anonymous reviewer.
Keywords
- Cognitive style
- Energy label
- Energy literacy
- Heuristics
- Household decision-making
