Behavioral and Information Barriers to Energy Conservation: A Field Experiment in Alaska

Last registered on May 26, 2020

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Behavioral and Information Barriers to Energy Conservation: A Field Experiment in Alaska

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0003938

Initial registration date

May 23, 2020

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

May 26, 2020, 5:03 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Alaska

Primary Investigator

Name

Ragan Petrie

Affiliation

Texas A&M University

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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Marco Castillo

PI Affiliation

Texas A&M University

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Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2018-11-01

End date

2023-06-30

Keywords

Environment & Energy

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

We examine the role of information and incentives on household energy consumption. We partner with a local utility company to recruit and evaluate alternative ways to conserve energy. We use administrative data to evaluate behavioral changes in the short and long run of different treatments.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Castillo, Marco and Ragan Petrie. 2020. "Behavioral and Information Barriers to Energy Conservation: A Field Experiment in Alaska." AEA RCT Registry. May 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3938-1.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Volunteer households are randomly assigned to information and incentive treatments for energy usage. Administrative records on energy consumption are evaluated before and after the intervention.

Intervention Start Date

2019-02-02

Intervention End Date

2019-04-05

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

energy consumption over time

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Selection into treatments, study completion rates, information acquisition.

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Invitation to participate in the study is sent to the population of qualified households. Volunteers are randomly assigned to treatments including incentives and information on energy usage. Data on energy consumption is gathered and endline survey is conducted.

Experimental Design Details

Invitation to participate in the study is sent to the population of qualified households from the gas company's (ENSTAR) list of users. There are two different study completion payments ($40, $60), and one is randomly assigned to a household in the invitation email. Interested households complete a signup survey online. Of those, households are screened for qualification to be part of the study (i.e. dedicated gas meter, broadband internet, single family home). Qualified households are randomly assigned to one of four treatments and sent an invitation via email and asked to confirm participation and complete a short survey. These are our intent-to-treat households. Participating households are also asked to complete an endline survey at the study completion.

The experimental design is 2x2 on information and incentives. Treatments are control, information only, incentive only and information and incentive. This is a between-subjects design. Real-time information on gas usage is provided to households via a meter reader provided to the household and an online portal to view usage. Incentives are monetary to reduce gas usage relative to the previous year.

The study is run during the winter in Anchorage, Alaska.

Data on gas usage is provided by the gas company ENSTAR. Data are for one year prior to the intervention, during the intervention and 1-2 years after the intervention.

Randomization Method

Private randomization using office computer (random seed saved for replication).

Randomization Unit

Household

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

No clustering

Sample size: planned number of observations

40,000 invited

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

200+ information treatment, 200+ incentive treatment, 200+ control

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

14 percentage point difference between each treatment for binary variables (2-sided, power = 0.8). 16 percent change on consumption level without covariates (2-sided, power = 0.8).

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB