To get people to switch to green energy. . . make the switch for them
An opt-out rather than opt-in model for renewable power programs yields high participation with few downsides
March 16, 2021
When utilities automatically enroll customers in a green energy package, at least 80% of households will stick with it after several years even if it is slightly more expensive than electricity from conventional sources, a new study reveals.
Past research has shown that people will initially accept these so-called ‘green energy default’ programs. But there was little understanding of how such programs fare over the longer term, or whether they would have unwelcome knock-on effects such as increased energy use. Studies also hadn’t tested whether the programs would be accepted by business customers, who might be more concerned with the bottom line.
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Switzerland is committed to phasing out nuclear energy production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
Presenting renewable energy as the standard option saw 80 per cent of Swiss consumers staying with the ‘green default’.
The effect endured over the four years for which data was available
There was no evidence of ‘moral licence’ – consumers didn’t use more energy because it was cleaner.
The study shows that non-monetary incentives can be highly effective in changing behaviour.
Researchers studying the Swiss energy market have found that making green energy the default option for consumers leads to an enduring shift to renewables and thus has the potential to cut CO2 emissions by millions of tonnes.
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Researchers studying the Swiss energy market have found that making green energy the default option for consumers leads to an enduring shift to renewables and thus has the potential to cut CO2 emissions by millions of tonnes.
The study, published today in
Nature Human Behaviour, investigated the effect of changes in the Swiss energy market that presented energy from renewable sources as the standard option for consumers - the green default.
Both business and private customers largely accepted the default option, even though it was slightly more expensive, and the switch to green sources proved a lasting one.
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People often choose the standard option. Choosing to be an organ donor, printing on both sides of the page - such decisions are influenced by which is the standard setting, or default. In fact, economists and sociologists call this the default effect. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Warwick in the UK have now managed to clearly demonstrate this effect. Private households, but also self-employed people and SMEs, are more likely to procure sustainably produced electricity if that is their provider s default offer.
The scientists conclude this from an analysis of data from two Swiss electricity suppliers - one large and one medium-sized. This analysis was possible because these electricity companies changed their default offer a few years ago. Prior to this change, they supplied their customers with a conventional electric mix as standard. Anyone wanting power from renewable sources could order it at an extra charge. Following the change, this was the other w