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Participant survey results

As part of the assessment of the Shift & Save trial, the University of Ulster was commissioned to carry out an independent evaluation of the trial, and how it had affected participants. The results of their survey items showed that:
  • a wide variety of different kinds of households took part in the trial, with an equal balance between families with children, over-65’s, and households where two or more working-age adults shared a home.

This meant that outcomes from the trial are more likely to reflect how Shift and Save might affect the general population of Northern Ireland, which was what NIE Networks was interested in establishing.

The University team, led by Professor Christine Liddell, also assessed householder attitudes to energy use and their ability to save energy before and after the trial. Statistically significant changes took place during the trial, for example:
  • Participants became significantly more aware of energy, and how best to use it, by the end of the trial.
  • Participants felt that they had significantly reduced the amount of energy being wasted in their home.
  • People who found the display easy to understand, and also people who used their in-home display more regularly to monitor energy use, were more likely to report the biggest reductions in how much energy they used.
The University also matched 22 of the trial customers with a group who did not have an in-home display and were not incentivised to save. The 22 trial customers used an average of 4% less electricity than their counterparts during the trial period. 
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