Achieving painless energy conservation via equity-oriented efficiency nudge: evidence from electricity consumption in China

Demand-side emission reduction is crucial yet often overlooked due to fragmented policies lacking balance between equity and efficiency. This study proposes a data-driven behavioral nudging framework based on the Equitable Electricity Efficiency (EEE) index, which quantifies household saving potential under social and environmental constraints while preserving welfare. EEE is estimated through a multi-method pipeline combining Meta-Frontier Analysis, ANN-DEA, SFA (Battese-Coelli, 1988), and Three-Stage DEA, identifying inefficiencies, distortions, and fairness-adjusted gaps. Analysis of large-scale Chinese household electricity data shows an average EEE of 70 %, implying a recoverable potential of 26.5 %–31.5 %, equal to 72.12 billion kWh and 5.66 million tons of CO₂ annually. Results reveal nonlinear patterns: middle-income, moderately aware households have the highest untapped efficiency; affluent users respond less; disadvantaged groups face structural barriers. Embedding fairness into nudges offers a scalable, interpretable, and inclusive path for equity-aware demand-side management and just energy transition.