10.2190/FRTW-T45H-CBD9-VCDU FRTWT45HCBD9VCDU 2 "Maybe Somebody Forgot to Turn the Chiller on": Energy Information and Behavior In Small Businesses 111 127 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 FRTWT45HCBD9VCDU.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=FRTWT45HCBD9VCDU 2 Paul Komor Willett Kempton Princeton University Behavioral issues affecting energy use in small commercial buildings are explored. Interviews with energy decision makers reveal poor information on energy consumption and energy-using equipment. One striking example is that not one of the managers asked was aware that they paid a demand (kW) charge, even though this charge represented, on average, 43 percent of their electricity bills. Graphical feedback was developed to improve user information related to energy use. This graphical feedback was experimentally presented to a subset of store managers and their reactions were evaluated in open-ended interviews. The experiment compared different time periods of feedback and found that the preferred time period was a function of the user's job responsibilities. For example a store manager preferred daily feedback, since it provided information on equipment operation, which was her responsibility. In contrast, a store owner preferred monthly feedback so he could compare energy costs with other costs, which were billed on a monthly basis. Respondents saw both dollars and kWh as useful, but usually preferred dollars. Demand charges were not well understood, and were difficult to communicate even with our graphical methods. Respondents saw inter-store comparisons as valuable, but potentially misleading due to variations in the levels of service and comfort provided across different stores. It is argued that improved information is a necessary but not sufficient response to energy inefficiency in small commercial buildings. Energy Information Administration, <i>Annual Energy Review 1989</i>, DOE/EIA-0384(89), Department of Energy, Washington, D. C., 20585, May 1990. B. Farhar and C. Fitzpatrick, <i>Small Business Energy Conservation Programs: A Literature Review</i>, SERI/TR-254-3387, Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colorado 80401, January 1989. P. Komor and R. Katzev, Behavioral Determinants of Energy Use in Small Commercial Buildings: Implications for Energy Efficiency, <i>Energy Systems and Policy, 12</i>:4, pp. 233-242, 1988. W. Kempton, C. Harris, J. Keith, and J. Weihl, Do Consumers Know "What Works" in Energy Conservation?, in <i>Families and the Energy Transition</i>, J. Byrne, D. Schulz, and M. Sussman (eds.), Hawthorne Press, New York, pp. 115-135, 1985. L. Layne, W. Kempton, A. Behrens, R. Diamond, M. Fels, and C. Reynolds, <i>Design Criteria for a Consumer Energy Report: A Pilot Field Study</i>, PU/CEES Report #220, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 1988. R. Katzev and T. Johnson, <i>Promoting Energy Conservation: An Analysis of Behavioral Research</i>, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1987. W. Kempton and L. Layne, The Consumer's Energy Information Environment, <i>Proceedings of the 1988 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings</i>, ACEEE, Washington, D. C., <i>11</i>, pp. 50-66, 1988. P. Komor, W. Kempton, and J. Haberl, <i>Energy Use, Information, and Behavior in Small Commercial Buildings</i>, PU/CEES Report #240, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 1989. J. Haberl and E. Vajda, Use of Metered Data Analysis to Improve Building Operation and Maintenance: Early Results from Two Federal Complexes, <i>Proceedings of the 1988 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings</i>, ACEEE, Washington, D. C., 3, pp. 98-111, 1988.