Abstract
The past decade, research efforts to enhance sustainability in the building sector have revealed the strong impact that human behaviour has on the total energy a building consumes. As a result, the interest has been shifted towards finding ways to effectively engage occupants in the process of obtaining energy savings and improving the energy performance of buildings, and cities at a higher level. A plethora of demand-side management (DSM) mechanisms and incentive schemes have been developed since, attempting to trigger corrective actions and restrain the energy needs of building occupants. Especially, in the context of smart cities, such schemes can be effectively implemented thanks to the tremendous potential that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) offers. In fact, innovative smart platforms, systems and devices are critical for empowering occupants’ energy consciousness and their overall understanding of their energy behaviour and its impact. The current study presents a novel conceptual framework that engages building end-users in the game of moderating their energy consumption, through an innovative incentive scheme that is based on the concept of energy-currency. This framework can be easily applied in an urban environment, and as presented through a numerical example, can essentially contribute to promoting sustainability in “smart” urban settings.