Effectiveness of energy conservation awareness package on energy conservation behaviors of off-campus students in Nigerian universities

Abstract

Poor energy conservation behaviors among off-campus students are a form of irrational behavior that often results in erratic power supply within the students' village. The present study, therefore, explored the effectiveness of energy conservation awareness package (ECAP) on energy conservation behaviors of off-campus students residing within students' villages of Nigerian Universities. A pretest-posttest experimental and waitlist control group which involved 328 participants were quantitatively assessed. Findings of the posttest depict that poor energy conservation behavior of off-campus students momentously weaken compared to a waitlist control group. This is evident where the mean difference of 33.35 on level of engaging in energy conservation behavior for students exposed to ECAP is greater than 1.20 for those not exposed to the therapy. Also, 27.97 mean difference on likelihood of engaging in energy conservation behavior is greater than 0.54 for those not exposed to the therapy. In extension, results of 2 and 4-months follow-up appraisal proved that the momentous decline in negative energy conservation behavior of ECAP participants was upheld. By implication, when off-campus students subscribe to the use of energy-saving bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs and switching off the unnecessary lightings among others as evident in this study would go a long way in conserving energy.