Improving Air Conditioner Use Efficiency in China

Last registered on September 14, 2021

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Improving Air Conditioner Use Efficiency in China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008230
Initial registration date
September 13, 2021

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
September 14, 2021, 4:37 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Ruhr University Bochum

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Renmin University of China

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2021-08-01
End date
2021-10-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a randomized controlled trial to understand how to improve the efficiency of air conditioning use among households in the southern regions in China. First, we collect data on how households used air conditioning in the past 12 months based on self-reports. Then one monitor is installed on each air conditioner in the households to collect data documenting the real use of air conditioners in the household. We would evaluate whether giving them information and how information is given could improve the use of air conditioners.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jiang, Xiaopeng and Yuanwei Xu. 2021. "Improving Air Conditioner Use Efficiency in China." AEA RCT Registry. September 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8230-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-09-19
Intervention End Date
2021-09-25

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Use of air conditioners: daily frequency of using, daily amount of eletricity used by air conditioners.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will send information on how to use air conditioners efficiently to the households via text messages. The randomization is inplemented at the household level, within 34 cities (strata). One third of the households would receive general information, one third would receive specific instructions, and one third would receive no message and serve as control. In addition, half of those who would receive any information would get one additional text message with the same text, sent by their social network contact.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization in stata
Randomization Unit
Household
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
About 500 households from 34 cities in 12 provinces in southern China
Sample size: planned number of observations
About 500 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
About 170 households as control, 170 households receive general information, and 170 households receive specified information.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Renmin University
IRB Approval Date
2021-06-30
IRB Approval Number
N/A

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials