Residential electricity consumption behavior: Influencing factors, related theories and intervention strategies

The proportion of residential electricity consumption in the total energy consumption has increased rapidly in the past decades all over the world. It is becoming increasingly important to promote household energy conservation for the sustainable development of a country in the case of resource constraints. This paper reviews and evaluates the existing research works which are related to the residential electricity consumption behavior. Particular attention is given to the following aspects. (1) Factors influencing residential electricity consumption in social psychology. (2) Theories of social psychology in understanding residential electricity consumption behavior. (3) Different interventions aiming at encouraging households to reduce electricity consumption. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of research on residential electricity consumption behavior in the big data era.