Project Description
Technological innovation has been an impressive driver of efficiency gains; however, over time it has become clear that without a greater understanding of the human factors, potential energy savings will remain unlocked. Documenting and analyzing emerging attitudes, emotions, experiences, habits, and practices around technology adoption is essential to achieve one of the goals of this research, which is to devise predictive indicators for on-going potential studies regarding energy consumption in California.
Our hypotheses are that a group of individuals we term cybersensitives enjoy interacting with technology in their everyday lives, and are otherwise more viscerally responsive to technological interventions than peers in cohorts organized by class, gender, neighborhood, age, or income stratification. We assert that an investigation into cybersensitives offers the California Energy Commission the chance to acquire critical insights useful for determining how to more effectively support residential engagement in energy efficient behaviors.
The goal of this research is to be able to recommend an alternative energy efficiency potential model. This new model would draw upon variables descriptive of culture and behavior among California sub-populations, and demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of programs designed to holistically address how different people experience and respond to technologies in their lives.