Title: A case study of smart energy systems and behavioural aspects of social systems: systems thinking approach

Authors: Nasrin Khansari; Hamid R. Darabi; Mo Mansouri; Ali Mostashari

Addresses: School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA ' School of Systems and Enterprises, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA ' School of Systems and Enterprises, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA ' School of Systems and Enterprises, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Abstract: Energy consumption habits strictly depend on technology, as well as individual and social attitudes. In this paper, we investigate the important factors in changing energy consumption behaviour. To that end, we provide a high level systemic framework to integrate relevant theories of social behaviour and implement them in the context of energy consumption. A survey is designed to demonstrate the usability of this framework. The results of this survey support the hypothesis that education and technology have a positive impact on energy-saving behaviour. However, our findings regarding the role of social aspects of individuals were not conclusive.

Keywords: smart energy systems; social systems; systems thinking; energy behaviour; behavioural change.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSE.2017.083935

International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, 2017 Vol.8 No.1, pp.1 - 15

Received: 28 Mar 2016
Accepted: 16 Nov 2016

Published online: 26 Apr 2017 *

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