Evaluating communication to optimise consumer-directed energy efficiency interventions

Awareness campaigns, education and training programmes, label schemes and smart metering are all initiatives based on the principle that more and better information will encourage consumers to use less energy. Initiatives of this type can realise efficiency savings of up to 30%, and are likely to remain politically popular while preferred by the public to legislation or fines. While widespread, such programmes can have mixed performance, with savings often not reaching potential. This article investigates whether existing theoretical models can usefully be combined for evaluations of such message-oriented programmes. To do this it examines relationships between the variables of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) using empirical data from participants exposed to energy behaviour change projects. Analysis revealed that when used together, the theories may offer insight into the impact of messaging. While a single exploratory study can only describe what has occurred, it offers initial evidence to advocate further analysis of the potential of the combined framework. The author offers an illustration of how the framework might be utilised by other schemes by example of its application to a major EU project to save energy in Europe’s public buildings.