Effects of feedback information on the household consumption of water and electricity: A case study in Colombia

Cities are the point of concentration for most of the current environmental problems, due to their fast growth and their dependence on ecosystems beyond urban limits. Changes in cities and cultural patterns that shape modern life have accelerated the metabolism of cities and consequently have negatively impacted the environment. Different approaches have been explored to understand and manage this situation. In this sense, various studies have been developed regarding the impacts of feedback information on water and electricity consumption in order to determine and understand ways to manage domestic demand. This paper presents the results obtained through the execution of an experiment on the effects of feedback information on water and electricity consumption at the household scale. During the study, participating households were exposed to different types of information, including their own consumption, comparisons with their neighbors and saving tips. The results obtained show that feedback information has a significant but differentiated effect on water and electricity consumption, and that the way in which feedback information is perceived is different in both flows.