Tackling energy price increases: how behavioural science can help communicators

With energy price increases in the news again, households and businesses face increasing pressure to manage costs.

Behavioural science can help play a role by offering practical, low-cost ways to help people reduce energy consumption. By understanding how people make decisions and take action (or fail to), we can design more effective interventions that go beyond simply providing information.

Here are four tips for communicators working in local councils, energy providers and many other organisations where energy use and costs are a key challenge.  

1.      The Power of Defaults People often stick with the default option, whether it’s their bank, broadband provider, or energy tariff. The effort required to switch means that people often stay with what they know and avoid changing tariffs, even when it saves them money.

Behavioural solution: helping people by removing “friction” to make it easier to move to a more energy-efficient tariff can make a huge difference and your communications will be much more effective. Clearly there is a more pressing urgent need to do this now ahead of costs rising again in April.

2. Social Norms

We are strongly influenced by what others around us do. If we believe that others are making an effort to reduce energy use, we’re more likely to follow suit.

Behavioural Solution:

Social comparison messaging can encourage energy saving. For example, your communications could show how a household’s energy use compares to similar homes in their area.

Highlight messages like: “Your neighbours have reduced their energy use by 15% this month—can you beat them?”

Public commitments can also drive action — asking people to pledge to cut their energy use makes them more likely to follow through.

3. Framing and Loss Aversion

People tend to be loss-averse, meaning they feel the pain of losing £50 more than the pleasure of gaining £50. Traditional messaging often talks about energy savings over a year, but that doesn’t feel urgent.

Behavioural Solution: Frame messages around immediate losses: instead of saying, “You could save £200 a year by reducing your heating by 1 degree,” say, “Every day you delay turning your thermostat down, you’re losing 50p.”

Using personalised cost breakdowns on energy bills (e.g., “You spent £5 extra last week compared to similar households”) makes the impact feel more real. By making the cost of inaction immediate, people are more likely to change their behaviour.

4. Personalised and Actionable Advice

Many energy-saving messages are too generic, making them easy to ignore. Behavioural science tells us that people respond best to personalised, actionable advice. Behavioural Solution: Using tailored nudges in your communications can add up to significant nudges. On average, switching from 40°C to 30°C saved 38% energy and washing at 20°C saved 62%, according to Which, the largest consumer body in the UK. Following all their advice could save you up to £156 over the course of a year.

Real-time feedback through apps or smart meters helps people see the immediate impact of their actions. Providing timely, relevant, and specific advice increases the likelihood that people will act on it.

Final Thoughts: Behavioural Science as a Cost-Effective Solution While rising energy prices requires structural and policy solutions, behavioural science offers immediate, cost-effective strategies to help people reduce their bills and energy usage. By using defaults, social norms, loss aversion, and personalised advice, we can drive meaningful behaviour change, significantly improve our communications and most importantly help those in need. Behaviour Change Masterclass - starting in March Want to drive real behaviour change that delivers impact AND saves money? ​​Learn proven strategies to shift behaviours effectively - without wasting time or budget on outdated communication methods that cost a lot and have low impact.

Secure a spot on the March 2025 cohort today and discover how to drive measurable change that sticks. Book a call with Dominic Ridley-Moy to ask him anything about his masterclass.