Page 11 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2018 publication

Winter 2018 European Energy Innovation
crucial. Consumers should feel
that the information they are given
is relevant and that the advice is
useful. Recent ICT developments
allow creating seemingly tailored
information on a mass-scale.
7. Feedback solutions should,
rather than offering one static
programme, bring participants
through a cycle. For instance,
starting with simple messages and
suggesting tasks of low degree of
involvement and low perceived
complexity, then progressing
towards more sophisticated or
constraining behaviours.
8. Providing real-time feedback on
both gas and electricity leads to
significantly higher savings: 9.2%
for dual-fuel pilots versus 7.7% for
electricity only pilots. Natural gas
represents 37% of household’s
final energy consumption in
Europe compared to 25% for
electricity and in many countries a
higher share of household energy
expenditure as well.
9. Home automation alone tends
to have an adverse effect on
households’ overall energy
consumption. While some would
argue that there is no point trying
to engage and educate customers
who have automated appliances,
pilot results show that when
efficiency improvements come
solely from the technological side,
people remain passive actors,
leading to low levels of awareness,
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11
COMMUNICATION
continued inefficient habits and
sometimes a rebound effect
(seeing its energy expenditures
decrease, the customer might
become more careless about his
consumption).
10. Innovative customer centric
data-driven models and services
are staring to appear in Europe
and revolve around two main
themes sometimes offered
in combination: a) providing
households with the ability
to automatically increase and
decrease energy demand and
be rewarded for providing grid
flexibility thus preparing the grid
for increased electrification of
transport and heating (e.g. electric
cars, heat pumps) and b) enabling
and maximising independence
from traditional suppliers by
optimising local generation
(typically solar PV), battery storage
and home control. In the case of
gas, new services often focus on
remote control and scheduling of
water boilers and heating.
Recommendations
Consumers need accurate
information based on real-time data,
via multiple channels and using
targeted techniques. This is key in
achieving savings and encouraging
their participation in the energy
market. For this to happen, several
conditions must be met:
1. The technology is available: the
roll-out of smart meters must
be completed in order to have
granular and reliable information
about individual energy use.
2. Real-time data is available as a
basis for feedback and additional
consumer services.
3. There are multiple feedback
channels available, with priority to
in-home-displays.
4. Consumers are in control of their
own consumption/generation data
and resources and can voluntarily
hand over this control to a 3rd
party of their choice.
5. Consumers get the benefits
(comfort and/or savings).
This study brings new and
compelling analysis which confirms
what many in the industry already
know, that feedback produces good
levels of consumer engagement and
results in tangible energy savings.
The number of trials included in
the study from all over the world
makes the conclusions enduring for
policy makers everywhere.
Patrick Caiger-Smith, CEO at
geo and Chair of ESMIG’s
Consumer Energy Management
Working Group l
About ESMIG
ESMIG is the European voice
of the smart energy solution
providers. It represents
European companies which
provide products, information
technology and services for
multi-commodity metering,
display and management
of energy consumption and
production at consumer premises.
These products and services
enable better outage detection,
customized tariffs and accurate
bills, a precise overview of
consumption and manageable
demand. Therefore, they help
in making energy cleaner, more
affordable and more reliable.
www.esmig.eu
For information and copies of this
report, please contact Georgiana
Huiban, ESMIG Marketing
and Communications Officer
(communications@esmig.eu)