Effect of information presentations on consumer emotions to induce power saving actions

A demand response method that does not inconvenience consumer lifestyles is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and ensure power supply stability. In general, electric power conservation is motivated by monetary incentives or environmental concerns such as carbon dioxide emissions reductions and power failure probabilities. In this study, methods that induce consumers' power conservation actions were developed by presenting anthropomorphized/visualized information. This study involved improving experimental interfaces involving methods that closely replicate the actual way in which electric appliances are used in consumers' daily lives. Moreover, a small community model such as a micro grid was built to calculate the total amount of consumption power and CO₂ emissions of each electric appliance. The experiment involved twenty participants to test power saving behaviors by using the developed interface. The experimental results indicated that the method of presenting visualized information strongly induced users' electric power saving behaviors when compared with other methods.