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Using Gamification and Behavioural Economics to deliver domestic DSR

A holistic approach to domestic demand-side response (DSR).

Project leader

Dr Peter Davison

Dates

January 2019 to March 2022

Project staff

Dr David Greenwood

Sponsors

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

Partners

University of Teesside, GenGame, EnAppSis, Ecotricity Group, GridDuck

Description

The project partners have expertise in state-of-the-art techniques in areas such as:

  • digital marketing
  • consumer mobile application development
  • big data analysis
  • IoT (Internet of Things) technology
  • behavioural science
  • gamification

We will combine this expertise to deliver a scalable and repeatable approach to provide cost-effective DSR in the UK.

We will segment the various types of UK domestic property based on their ability and likelihood to offer flexibility. We will analyse data held by energy suppliers. The anonymised data will include information about energy and demographics.

GenGame will modify its existing consumer mobile applications. These will recruit, engage and retain different households’ demand flexibility. We will tailor the solution to the household's particular domestic loads and consumer preferences. Where appropriate and cost-effective, we will offer the means to automate such flexibility. To do this, we will use existing IoT technology and hardware provided by GridDuck.

We will design an iterative digital marketing campaign. The campaign will have tailored messaging and channels according to the household and consumer types. It will recruit 1000 of Ecotricity’s customers on a trial. We will then test incentive and engagement techniques using behavioural science and gamification. We will leverage and expand the state of the art to optimise the cost/benefit of the project's solution.

We will use EnAppSys’ energy market insights software to schedule domestic DSR events at times of maximum value. We will quantify this value and develop the business case for the project's approach. This will take account of both the current and future UK energy system.

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Postgraduate Research
Postgraduate Taught