Leveraging SmartMeter Technology to Reduce Energy Consumption

A team of UCLA economists, sociologists, and psychologists has proposed using novel SmartMeter energy usage data from 30,000 California residential users from 2009 to 2011 to understand how to encourage consumer engagement in energy conservation with SmartMeter technology. The team will provide recommendations on how to most effectively target households and neighborhoods with user-specific messages to maximize energy conservation.

The study is led by Professor Magali Delmas from the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Anderson School of Management. Other principal investigators include  Noah Goldstein, Anderson School of Management and Department of Psychology, and Professor Matthew Kahn, also from the IoES, and Department of Economics and Luskin School of Public Affairs.

To be eligible for this funding project teams must be directed by faculty from a north campus discipline in collaboration with at least one other individual whose expertise represents a distinctly different discipline or approach. The review committee selected projects based on a number of factors including the originality of the collaboration and project scope as well as demonstrated potential for future funding.