Showering Smartly. The impact of real-time feedback to nudge shower users to save water, energy and carbon emissions.

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Residential and commercial)
Not Energy Related
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Geography and Environmental Studies)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Psychology)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)

Dr P Pereira-Doel
Hospitality
University of Surrey

Standard

ESRC

01 October 2021

30 September 2022

12 months

£108,289

South East

Skills & Methods - Fellowships

Dr P Pereira-Doel, Hospitality, University of Surrey

During my PhD, I proved empirically through randomised, covert field experiments that providing real-time feedback during showers through Aguardio, an innovative, smart device, led to a 14% reduction in shower time in tourism accommodations, and up to 27% when persuasive messages were added. That meant savings of about US$48, 4.44 m3 of water, 0.19 MWh of energy, and 33 kg of CO2 per room/year. The fellowship will scale up the environmental impact, knowledge creation and transfer, at five levels:1) Academic contributiona) Within existing literature, there is currently very little understanding of consumers' water use(1,2). To address this gap, this fellowship will adopt an inductive approach known as "impact-focused environmental psychology"(3), following my PhD research, where the behaviour was identified (e.g., showering) and mapped in tourism contexts. This fellowship will use surveys and behavioural interventions in halls of residence through real-time feedback and new persuasive messages, getting insights through empirical data to foster water conservation among students. It will contribute theoretically through the advancement of the Feedback Intervention Theory(4) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion(5), underpinned by actual behaviour data, which to date is underutilised, as much pro-environmental behaviour research relies on self-reporting(6,7,8).b) Methodologically, this fellowship will focus on the adoption of technology as a tool for providing real-time feedback and securing actual behaviour data. While such an approach has been used in domestic energy consumption, the use of smart water-saving devices is underutilised(9). As such, this fellowship will measure actual showering data from this specific, hidden behaviour; data that would not be accessible otherwise.The fellowship will contribute to the Behaviour Change Wheel methodology(10) by identifying optimal communication strategies to support pro-environmental water use, largely unexplored(11,12).2) Non-academic engagement, knowledge creation, transfer and impacta) Hospitality industryI will work closely with the PhD partners (e.g. Hilton, TUI, Scandic) to promote our interventions. E.g., a 250-room hotel could save about 1,110 m3 of water per year, the same amount used by 20 people in the UK(13).b) Halls of residenceStudents take longer showers (12.2 minutes(14)) than the general UK population (6-7 minutes(15,16)). The University of Surrey is installing 542 Aguardio in halls of residence so I will develop several behavioural interventions and surveys to better understand water use. In partnership with the Danish Embassy, I will disseminate the findings initially among the best 29 UK universities in sustainability management(17), fostering them to replicate our interventions.c) Water companiesOFWAT has established a 200 million Innovation Fund(18) until 2025 to build the water sector's capacity to innovate to achieve net-zero emissions. In partnership with the Danish Embassy, I will 1) share the findings with UK water companies to 2) co-develop future research to 3) bid in the Innovation in Water Challenge(19).3) Dissemination of knowledgea) https://showeringsmartly.com/b) Workshops, conferences, trade fairs, and The Conversationc) At least five peer-reviewed publications based on my PhD, current postdoc and the fellowship4) Funding bidsI will prepare two funding bids (ESRC/EPSRC/Horizon Europe) to enable tailored behavioural interventions through software and artificial intelligence development.5) Academic skills developmenta) I will take advanced quantitative modules from the MSc in Social Research Methods at the University of Surrey (SeNSS compliant, UKRI accredited), which will improve my skills to conduct and evaluate larger scale experiments and to analyse and disseminate the big data generatedb) I will keep up to date with relevant literaturec) I will be part of limited teaching activities

Freshwater availability is under severe pressure(20), worsening with climate change(21,22). England is on the way to suffer from serious water shortages by 2050(23). Also, reducing water demand is needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030, committed by the UK water sector(24). Showering is the most (energy and) water-intensive activity in households(25), so nudging users to reduce shower time is an effective intervention leading to energy, water and emissions savings. For instance, a 22% reduction in shower time in households is equivalent to a 5% reduction of the total household energy(26). My PhD proved empirically that using Aguardio, a smart water-saving device that provides real-time feedback, led to a 14% shower reduction in tourism accommodations. Moreover, when persuasive messages were added, shower reduction increased to up to 27%, unveiling the potential to maximise energy and water use efficiency (watch video summary in https://youtu.be/3puOMKnvYeA). My thorough tests have been essential for Aguardio ApS, the Danish start-up behind the technology, to secure 400k private and public investment to redesign and manufacture the new Aguardio market-ready product, available since February 2021.Aguardio allows measuring the effect of behavioural interventions based on actual showering behaviour, providing many opportunities to empirically test psycho-sociological constructs, instead of relying on behavioural intentions, a common shortcoming in the literature. Thus, this fellowship contributes to the largely unexplored fields of how to better persuade consumers to act more pro-environmentally, particularly in fostering water conservation. The fellowship aims, first, to advance knowledge in fostering water conservation by developing behavioural interventions in halls of residence using Aguardio and relevant behavioural change techniques applied in persuasive messages. Second, to disseminate that knowledge by participating in conferences and trade fairs, by publishing the findings in academic and non-academic sources, and by regularly updating the project website (https://showeringsmartly.com/). Third, to escalate the impact by engaging with different sectors (e.g. hospitality, halls of residence, water companies, etc.) encouraging businesses to install Aguardio and develop interventions. And last, to prepare funding bids and develop my academic skills, particularly in advanced quantitative research methods, taking full advantage of the big data that will be available during and after this fellowship. The impact accelerator (IAA) and GCRF fundings awarded after my PhD have facilitated the engagement with the United Nations Environmental Programme, Anglian Water, L'Or al, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the Danish Embassy in London, or the University of Surrey halls of residence, reflecting the potential interest that Aguardio draws from different organisations and sectors. The fellowship will allow me to continue providing themwith evidence to motivate them to use Aguardio to foster water conservation, so the impact can be escalated. Moreover, through the installation of Aguardio in different organisations, I will have access to big data, offering unprecedented opportunities for future research on real behaviour through behavioural interventions in different contexts, highly increasing the academic, societal and environmental impact that the fellowship on its limited timeframe can create. Ultimately, this fellowship will develop the knowledge about consumers' shower behaviour and ways to optimise communication strategies to foster pro-environmental behaviour, setting up the basis for a holistic understanding of how individuals and organisations engage with water use, currently under-researched

28/10/21