Ambition | Topic EE-11-2014, Topic EE-07-2016-2017

The role of public authorities in energy efficiency

TRIBE will generate a pack to be offered to public authorities in order to influence the behaviour of their regular and eventual users towards energy efficiency in public buildings. The pack will be designed to be adaptable to the particularities of the buildings and users considered, including tools to monitor the progress on energy efficiency matters. By implementing TRIBE solutions, public building operators and owners will increase their expertise and improve their behaviours, having proven information about the cost-effectiveness of the energy efficiency measures, as well as funding schemes adapted to their institutional challenges and regulatory framework.

ICTs for energy efficiency in buildings

TRIBE will rely on existing monitoring systems in order to feed the game with real time data from the pilots. Therefore, complementing the existing energy management systems in a cost-efficient deployment of state of the art ICT technologies (wireless sensors, smart meters, smart plugs, etc.) and developing a methodology for its replication in public buildings.

Building energy modelling and simulation tools

TRIBE will develop an energy simulation engine, based on existing modelling and simulation tools, in which the effects of people behaviour will be taken into account, considering the different users profiles and actions that they can assume in buildings, as well as the real time data coming from the monitoring system regarding a previous ICT deployment.

User behaviour change

Measures targeting behaviour have been proven to have potential for energy savings. However, there are various factors that influence consumer behaviour as well as consumption practices and it is necessary to understand their relationships in order to influence positively in the energy user.

Figure 1: Main factors influencing consumer behaviour and emergence of consumption practices

TRIBE will act over the three fundamental aspects regarding behaviour change, which are in line with the Theory of Planned Behaviour:

Attitudes towards the behaviour:

In the field of environmental psychology, actions that are environmentally friendly carry, generally speaking, a positive normative belief. TRIBE will complement this general belief with a positive outcome related to the entertainment provided to the player by an enjoyable gaming experience.

Subjective norms:

The inclusion of the game within social networks (e.g. FaceBook) will allow the collaboration between players and therefore a viral spread of the common energy efficiency goals to be assumed as collective norms by the players’ community.

Perceived behavioural control:

The game will provide the player a virtual scenario to practice the implementation of a wide range of actions, providing new information and feedback of the impacts of these actions. The player will experience an improvement over its capabilities, knowledge and control and the difficulty level will be tune ad hoc to motivate each single player and therefore, the player perception of its behavioural control will be enhanced.

Serious games

TRIBE will develop a serious game for the energy sector in which building users will adopt energy efficient attitudes. It will include a simulation engine and real time collection data from the ICTs installed in the pilots, enabling a dynamic interaction building-consumer and moving towards a change in players’ behaviour. Additionally, it will be implemented through social networks, allowing the exchange of information and experience between the users, while promoting a group behaviour change.