American Economic Journal: Applied Economics · 2024 · Joshua Blonz、Karen Palmer、Casey J. Wichman、Derek C. Wietelman
中文摘要
自动化能否与经济激励形成互补？我们通过随机鼓励家庭启用其现有智能恒温器上的一项功能来探讨这一问题，该功能可自动响应分时电价。这项功能减少了电价最高的下午时段的空调使用，使室内温度升高至家庭偏好温度之上，其影响主要集中于通常白天在家的用户。用户在感到不适时很少停用该功能，这表明他们愿意以小幅增加不适为代价换取金钱节省。因此，自动化能够以较低成本改变家庭能源使用，在大规模推广时有潜力大幅降低电力供应成本。(JEL D12, D91, L94, L98, Q48)
Abstract
Can automation complement economic incentives? We explore this question by randomly encouraging households to activate a feature on their existing smart thermostat that automates responsiveness to time-of-use electricity pricing. The feature reduces air conditioning use during the highest-priced afternoon period, raising indoor temperatures above a household's preferred temperature, primarily for customers who are typically home during the day. Customers infrequently override the feature when they experience discomfort, suggesting that they are willing to trade off monetary savings for small increases in discomfort. Automation thus enables low-cost changes in household energy use, with potentially large electricity supply-cost reductions at scale. (JEL D12, D91, L94, L98, Q48)