How design can help save the world: Using behavioral science to motivate people to save energy, save money, and save the environment
A talk by Deena Rosen and Jeremy Faro, OPOWER
Let’s face it: energy efficiency is not sexy. While many people want to do the right thing and save energy when they can, people don’t always act rationally. Behavioral scientists have been studying this topic for a while, and have discovered a lot about what motivates people to take action. We’ve successfully applied their findings to visual, graphic, user-experience, and information design–and have already succeeded in saving the United States almost 220 million kilowatt hours of energy and nearly $25 million dollars in energy costs as a result.
As designers, we have opportunities to create experiences that affect, fill, and enrich people’s lives. Through using principles gleaned from behavioral science, we can create visual and verbal experiences that motivate people to make better decisions. Designing for behavioral change is all the rage these days, and while advertisers and industrial designers have used behavorial principles for decades to compel people to buy and do things, OPOWER is harnessing these powers for good. Our philosophy is as effective as it is simple: to empower people to make better decisions about their energy use by offering them information that’s always clear, open, friendly, unpretentious, compelling, concise, and jargon-free.
About OPOWER
Since its founding in 2007, OPOWER has been changing the game in energy efficiency — one of the world’s greatest untapped sources for emissions reductions. By inventing information-led customer engagement, we’ve dramatically improved the impact of energy efficiency programs at more than 50 utilities (including 8 of the 10 largest) in the US–and we’re having a great time doing it! With offices near Washington, DC, and in San Francisco, we’ve grown to 200 people now, and we’re still hiring like gangbusters.
Whether you’re diagnosing the reasons for a high utility bill, making use of a Smart Meter, choosing a new water heater, or sharing energy tips with friends, OPOWER wants to be there, offering immediate solutions for reducing the way you and those around you think about and use energy. Our programs consistently produce reliable, predictable, sustainable energy savings, which has led to the OPOWER platform having more impact than any other energy efficiency program to date, anywhere. (We’ll surpass the US renewable energy sector in total carbon reduction in a few years, and we’re already on track to deliver a third of the power produced by the US solar energy sector, in terms of energy savings, by the end of 2011.)
The OPOWER platform engages utility customers using all available channels, including mail, web, phone, in-home displays, and in-hand devices. This generates extremely high engagement levels across all customer segments—irrespective of their age, income, education, or access to technology. We process millions of meter readings every hour to derive insights from individual and collective energy-usage data; this allows us to offer targeted, individual advice to customers, and to deliver verified energy savings of 1.5% to 3.5% across the board (with the added benefit of increasing customer satisfaction with their utilities). For those with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), our platform offers a cost-effective way to deliver the value of the Smart Grid directly to residential utility customers and small businesses.
About Deena
Deena has been designing simple, friendly, engaging user experiences for over a decade. She currently leads the User Experience team at OPOWER, helping to define the customer experience and product strategy for the OPOWER Home Energy Reports and web portal. Before joining OPOWER, Deena worked in San Francisco and New York at Smart Design, Clif Bar, and Avon Products. She has a BA in Computer Science from Duke University and a Masters in Product Design from Stanford University.