AUEB participates in research project on encouraging energy efficient behaviors using Behavioral Science

AUEB participates in research project on encouraging energy efficient behaviors using Behavioral Science

Researchers of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) will participate in the research project NUDGE ("Nudging consumers towards energy efficiency through Behavioral Science"), funded by the European Union under the "Horizon 2020" program.

The European Union sets ambitious targets for reducing the effects of climate change, with a view to eliminating CO2 emissions by 2050. In this context, many investments are focused on developing digital infrastructure (e.g. smart meters) that enables consumers to monitor and manage electricity consumption. However, the drastic reduction of consumption presupposes fundamental changes in consumer behavior, from the way consumers use electrical appliances and shape their daily habits, up to the more general approach to the problem of climate change.

The NUDGE project will use principles and techniques from Behavioral Science and Cognitive Psychology to understand the endogenous and exogenous factors that influence citizens’ energy consumption behaviour. The basis of these techniques is the method of targeted nudges by R. Thaler, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017. The project will use methods from Artificial Intelligence to predict the type and nature of nudges that are suitable for different consumer profiles with the ultimate goal of improving energy efficiency in their consumption.

Tests and evaluations of these techniques will be conducted in five countries (Greece, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Croatia) and on different types of consumers (e.g. households, energy communities, schools), thus paving the way for policy design and the formulation of recommendations that are adapted to the social and economic conditions of each country.

The scientific work of AUEB will be performed in the Mobile Multimedia Laboratory of the Department of Informatics of AUEB, with Associate Professor Iordanis Koutsopoulos as scientific supervisor. The project started on September 1, 2020, will last for three years and involves 10 organizations from 7 countries. More information: http://www.ieecp.org/project/nudge/