Dr. Rebecca Ford is a postdoctoral fellow associated with the Energy Cultures project and employed by the Department of Marketing. Her research is primarily focused on the development of technology to enhance the way individuals interact with their energy consumption data. Her current projects include an investigation into consumer preferences for graphical presentation of electricity feedback from a real-time appliance level system; the impact of disaggregated feedback and actionable advice on motivation and specific behavioural intentions; and the effect of different feedback visualisations on energy literacy and behaviour intention. Rebecca is also working with Mercury Energy in a longitudinal study to explore the effect of these different feedback visualisations on both the short-term and long-term energy consumption and data interaction patterns in New Zealand households.

Before coming to the University of Otago, Rebecca completed a D.Phil in the engineering department at the University of Oxford, UK. Rebecca was working under the supervision of Dr. Malcolm McCulloch in the Electrical Power Lab, on a research project titled ?Reducing domestic energy consumption through behaviour modification.? The project's background premise was that consumers could be influenced in their domestic electricity consumption patterns by real-time information about the electrical consumption of individual appliances in their homes. The outcome of the research included the development of techniques and algorithms that could be used to determine the type of appliances switching on and off within a circuit, by measurement of the total current and voltage supplied to the circuit.

 

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Publications

Ford, R., Karlin, B. Testing the Display of Energy Use Information: The Impact of Specific Behavioral Information in the Provision of Energy Use Feedback. Manuscript in preparation.

Ford R., Karlin, B. Visualizing Energy Consumption: What Consumers (think they) Want. Manuscript in preparation.

Ford, R. (2010) Reducing Domestic Energy Through Behaviour Modification. D.Phil Thesis, Engineering Department, University of Oxford.

 

Invited Talks and Conference Presentations

 

Ford R., Barton B., Carrington G., Lawson R., Stephenson J. and Thorsnes P.  Energy Cultures: A Framework for Interdisciplinary Research. The Garrison Institute?s Climate, Mind and Behaviour Symposium. Garrison, NY, USA, February 17, 2012.

Ford R. Energy Advice: Insights from the Energy Cultures Framework. Community Energy Network (CEN) Home Energy Advice Expert Meeting. Wellington, NZ, February 9, 2012.

Ford R. Eco-feedback in the home: What consumer?s want. Behaviour Energy and Climate Change (BECC) Conference. Washington DC, USA, November 29 ? December 3, 2011.

Ford R. Energy: What is it, where does it come from, and how do we use it? Centre for Unconventional Security Affairs (CUSA), Sustainable Seminar Series. Irvine, CA, May 11, 2011.

Ford R., McCulloch, M. Lightening the Load: Empowering Individuals to Reduce Their Electricity Consumption at Home. Behaviour Energy and Climate Change (BECC) Conference, Sacramento, CA, USA, November 15, 2010.

Ford, R. Reducing Domestic Energy Consumption Through Behaviour Modification. Precourt Energy Efficiency Centre (PEEC), Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Ford R. Reducing Domestic Energy Consumption Through Behaviour Modification. Engineering Department, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 2008.