Is information a good policy instrument to influence the energy behaviour of households?[L'information influence-elle le comportement de réduction d'énergie des ménages ?]

Despite several financial aids intended to promote the energy transition, the French people continue to buy energy-intensive products and are not interested in improving the energy performance of their homes. We propose a new measure which consists of provision of information to change individual behaviour. Currently, health and the environment are the prime concerns and we propose to encourage individuals to reduce their energy consumption by informing them of the environmental and health consequences linked to energy consumption. To test the validity of our proposal, we use the willingness to pay for more energy efficient equipment and thermal insulation. We conducted an online survey which included messages on the link between environment-energy and health-energy. We showed that it affected households' energy behaviour. We compared this strategy with policies already in place. We found that policies that combined provision of information with a subsidy, increase sales of goods that reduce energy consumption and was the best option from a social welfare perspective.