Perceptions of consumers towards smart and sustainable energy market services: The role of early adopters

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to understand consumer's perceptions towards new energy services. A comprehensive literature review was conducted prior to implementing an online questionnaire with 212 respondents. Consequently, a qualitative in-depth interview was conducted with six representative early adopters of new energy services. The main identified trends in the market were that more than half of the respondents would accept third-party device control but have serious security concerns. Consumers are also willing to invest in renewable energy systems if the payback time is less than 5 years. Factors such as financial rewards and reductions in bills are the main drivers for consumer's acceptance of new services. While, data security and privacy, ignorance of the nature of control and low benefits versus high initial cost were the main barriers. Results of this study would enable the actors in the Egyptian energy domain to identify the consumers' perspectives towards future scenarios and their readiness to be active players in the market. This will in return enable energy actors to adapt their plans based on the questions that current consumers consider relevant as well as decide on how to encourage consumers to become active players in the energy market.