The Positive Behavioural Effects of Heating Energy Feedback

Feedback on heating behaviour via digital user interfaces can foster transparency and encourage users to save energy – provided that this feedback is readily comprehensible, relevant to everyday life and complies with data protection regulations. It is vital that users are given personalised heating and cooling tips and have a positive perception of their self-efficacy, as this increases their influence on energy consumption and costs. These are the findings of two surveys conducted as part of the VISE-I project. In a new issue of In Brief, researchers at the Wuppertal Institute issue recommendations on interface design and feedback content.

Wuppertal, 24 July 2025: While efforts to decarbonise the electricity sector have achieved success, including the expansion of renewable generation capacity, progress in the heating transition remains sluggish. This is particularly true in apartment buildings, where tenants have limited ability to initiate renovations to the building envelope or install new heating systems. This calls for new approaches that take account of tenants' ability to take action while providing transparency. "Designing user interfaces for energy feedback is a decisive first step in ensuring that tenants, too, are actively integrated into the energy transition," says Aileen Reichmann, a researcher in the Structural Change and Innovation Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute. "Our study clearly shows that tenants are interested in digital energy products – provided that they are readily comprehensible and do not create the impression of monitoring." Reichmann is the lead author of the In Brief publication "Heating Energy Feedback in Apartment Buildings: Interface Design as the Key to a Participatory Energy Transition". Focusing on the example of heating energy, the researchers also identified the significant challenges of designing tailored feedback, with further research needed on this topic. 

In an effort to gain a better understanding of users' needs and preferences, researchers at the Wuppertal Institute conducted two online surveys as part of the VISE-I project. They discovered that the surveyed tenants could be divided easily into three groups based on whether they are receptive or opposed to such feedback or remain undecided. The results show different attitudes between the three groups, including in relation to their sensitivity to energy price fluctuations, their acceptance of measurement sensors and their trust in data protection measures. However, the researchers made another particularly interesting finding regarding heating energy feedback: the survey responses highlighted perceived self-efficacy as a central factor in motivation. Individuals who believe they have the ability to actively influence their energy consumption are more likely to consider the feedback provided as helpful – and are also more likely to implement proposed energy-saving measures (see figure 2).

Based on these insights, Aileen Reichmann, Christoph Tochtrop and Eva Eiling from the Wuppertal Institute formulated recommendations to ensure that heating energy feedback is user-friendly and effective.

• Tangible added value: Energy feedback should be geared towards enabling tenants to take action.
• Easy-to-understand information in the form of infographics supplemented with text promotes inclusion.
• Options for specific, comprehensible actions and information on an individual’s influence – including in relation to costs and CO₂ emissions – can increase users’ perceived self-efficacy.
• Flexible feedback formats: Feedback should be adaptable to different life situations, such as shift-based work and prolonged periods away from home.
• Maximum impact: In addition to room-specific information, feedback should also incorporate comparative figures, including average consumption in comparable households, and information from the central heating system. In the long term, all energy information should be collated.
• Support long-term behavioural changes: Feedback should be provided at sensible intervals (i.e. daily rather than monthly).
• Keep digital infrastructure to a minimum in the interests of data and resource efficiency.
• Support competence development: Users should be supported in developing their energy literacy and digital literacy.
• Secure data processing and transparent data visualisation is important to prevent users perceiving a loss of autonomy.

About the VISE-I project

The Smart User Interfaces – Virtual Institute for Smart Energy: Intelligent Interfaces for Users in Energy-Efficient Households (VISE-I) project was initiated as part of the Virtual Institute for Smart Energy (VISE) and funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia from July 2022 to June 2025. In addition to the Wuppertal Institute, project partners included TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences and the Europäische Bildungszentrum der Wohnungs- und Immobilienwirtschaft (EBZ).

Press Release
Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH
Responsible for content: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Fischedick, President and Scientific Managing Director
Press contact: Luisa Lucas, Deputy Head of Public Relations
Tel: +49 202 2492-292
Email: luisa.lucas@wupperinst.org

Scientific contact person
Aileen Reichmann, Researcher in the Structural Change and Innovation Research Unit
Tel: +49 202 2492-249
Email: aileen.reichmann@wupperinst.org