Electrifying our lives is one of the most powerful actions we can take to fight the climate crisis. It can take many forms, from replacing traditional HVAC systems with energy-efficient heat pumps to choosing electric vehicles over fossil-fueled cars.
But even people who care deeply about the climate underestimate the impact electrification can have.
How can we motivate people to electrify?
BIT and Rewiring America partnered to identify messages that inspire and enable climate-concerned people to take action toward electrifying. We used our online platform, Predictiv, to test messages aimed at influencing people’s self-efficacy, interest and knowledge about electrification actions.
Using theories from behavioral science, we designed two messages to target key barriers to electrification, including lack of knowledge and perceptions that these actions are difficult to do.
The first intervention message emphasized the “how” of electrification – explaining how to do it in simple terms. While the other highlighted the “why” – its positive impact on one’s carbon footprint. Both made it clear that help is available to make electrification as easy as possible.
The result: both messages worked
More than 6,000 people in the US participated in our randomized controlled trial. They saw either one of the two intervention messages, or no message as a control for comparison.
We found that both messages significantly increased self-efficacy and interest in electrification. Plus, they helped people realize the high-impact of these actions, and boosted participants’ willingness to do at least one of the actions listed in the messages.
For more details, read the full report here.
Let’s take electrification to the next level
This study shows how important it is for public messaging to make electrification feel easy and attractive – two factors critical to applying behavioral science to climate communications.
And it’s just a start. These findings can be used to promote home electrification solutions widely, and serve as a starting point for future climate action campaigns nationwide. See how in the electrification communications guide produced by Rewiring America.
If you’d like to explore applying behavioral science to promote electrification, contact BIT here.
