Home Energy Displays: Consumer Adoption and Response

LaMarche, J. ; Cheney, K. ; Akers, C. ; Roth, K. ; Sachs, O.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.)

关键词: Buildings;    Fraunhofer;    Human Factors;    Residential;    Occupant Behavior;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1059159
RP-ID  :  DOE/GO-102012-3805
RP-ID  :  AC36-08GO28308
RP-ID  :  1059159

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The focus of this project was to investigate the factors influencing consumer adoption of Home Energy Displays (HEDs) and to evaluate electricity consumption in households with basic HEDs versus enhanced feedback methods - web portals or alerts. We hypothesized that providing flexible and relatable information to users, in addition to a basic HED, would make feedback more effective and achieve persistent energy savings. In Phase I, we conducted three user research studies and found preferences for aesthetically pleasing, easy to understand feedback that is accessible through multiple media and offered free of charge. The deployment of HEDs in 150 households planned for Phase II encountered major recruitment and HED field deployment problems. First, after extensive outreach campaigns to apartment complexes with 760 units, only 8% of building's tenants elected to receive a free HED in their homes as part of the field study. Second, the HED used, a leading market model, had a spectrum of problems, including gateway miscommunications, failure to post to a data-hosting third party, and display malfunctions. In light of these challenges, we are pursuing a modified study investigating the energy savings of a web portal versus alert-based energy feedback instead of a physical HED.