Examining the attitude-behavior gap in residential energy use: Empirical evidence from a large-scale survey in Beijing, China
| Autor: | John C.V. Pezzey, Xuemei Bai, Yan Zhang, Franklin P. Mills |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Public economics
Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment 020209 energy Strategy and Management Energy (esotericism) 05 social sciences 02 engineering and technology Building and Construction Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Energy conservation Consistency (negotiation) Willingness to pay Beijing Scale (social sciences) 050501 criminology 0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering Empirical evidence Psychology 0505 law General Environmental Science Efficient energy use |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Cleaner Production. 295:126510 |
| ISSN: | 0959-6526 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126510 |
| Popis: | Occupant behavior in residential buildings has great energy-saving potential and offers an important opportunity for realizing the targets of energy conservation and carbon emission reduction. Traditionally, it is believed that occupant behavior aligns with people’s energy-related attitude. However, an attitude-behavior gap has been observed in many recent studies, which rarely focused on specific attitudes and behaviors in urban residential buildings. Therefore, based on a large-scale empirical survey (N = 1003) in Beijing, China, we explore the relationship between energy-related attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, purchase and habitual behaviors are investigated along with relevant attitudes, including the willingness to pay (WTP) more for energy efficient products, whether paying attention (WPA) to energy efficiency parameters/indicators of products when making a purchase, and the willingness to change behavior (WTC) for further residential energy reduction. The results show a mixed picture. There is a consistency between the occupants’ WPA and purchase behavior. In contrast, the occupants generally don’t behave consistently with their reported WTP and WTC, suggesting the existence of attitude-behavior gaps. Different reasons may lead to these gaps, demonstrating the necessity of a more comprehensive and flexible strategy for energy policymaking. Furthermore, a closer look at the factors underlying different attitudes shows the significant effects that perceived building thermal insulation performance and past experiences of changing behavior may have, suggesting the effectiveness and importance of building thermal retrofits and more targeted awareness campaigns. A self-reinforcing feedback loop may exist between attitude and behavior, demonstrating the great potential of social interactions and peer influence for behavioral change. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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