Abstract:
As electricity systems transition to renewables, balancing supply and demand is becoming more complex. Demand flexibility (i.e., encouraging households to shift when they use electricity) has moved from theory to policy priority. But what actually works in the real world?
The Users TCP’s Behavioural Insights Platform investigated this question through international research collaboration and, in this webinar, we present results from large-scale randomised field trials with over 400,000 households across the UK, Canada, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Working directly with utilities and regulators, we tested behaviourally informed communications, alternative Time-of-Use tariff designs, smart thermostat demand response programmes, and gamified feedback tools.
This webinar covers which behavioural messages significantly increase tariff and programme enrolment, whether households meaningfully reduce peak-time consumption when prompted, how consumers respond during live demand response events, and where behavioural interventions generate durable impact versus short-lived load shifting.
We also share initial cross-trial insights ahead of the publication of our forthcoming guidebook, which synthesises the lessons learned from these experiments into practical recommendations for implementation.
Presenter(s):
Ondrej Kacha – Joint Task Leader of the Users TCP Behavioural Insights Platform and Senior Behavioural Scientist at The Behaviouralist
Presentation slides and related publications/links