In-home Displays Research Articles

Survey study on energy use in UK homes during Covid-19

To contain the spread of Covid-19, governments across the world imposed partial or complete lockdowns. National energy demand decreased in periods of lockdowns; however, as people spent more time at home, residential energy use likely increased. This paper reports the results of a UK survey study (<em>N</em> = 1016 participants) about their energy-use practices during the first lockdown in March 2020. The results indicated that self-reported heating behaviours did not substantially change during lockdown. Regarding appliance use, in particular the duration of usage for televisions and computing equipment has increased and has spread more over the day. Being less able to manage financially was correlated with a greater usage of the smart meter in-home display and a greater attempt to save energy was positively correlated with greater usage of the in-home display, though correlations were small. In summary, the results indicate that home energy-use behaviours, in particular around heating, did not change as much as might have been expected, which might at least partly be explained by the comparatively warm weather during the first lockdown. Corroborating the survey findings with actual energy data is the next essential step to understand findings in more detail. <em><strong>Policy relevance</strong></em> Governments are developing policies to support the transition to net zero. Covid-19 has accelerated the transition in behaviours such as home working which may result in a ‘new normal’ energy behaviour and will need to be taken account when planning for net zero. Insights into the changes in behaviour during lockdown indicate it would be oversimplified to assume that electricity and gas use have increased in all homes because of a stay-at-home order. Self-reported heating did not change, whereas electrical appliance usage increased. The sample composition of the household is important for understanding the energy implications. In this study, about half the households did not spend more time at home during lockdown as judged on their work status. In-home displays may support energy saving behaviour, particularly for those doing less well financially. Hence, promoting their use should be a key consideration when installing smart meters.

Do in-home displays affect end-user consumptions? A mixed method analysis of electricity, heating and water use in Danish apartments

Reducing building energy consumption is of foremost importance to achieve energy and environmental sustainability. However, upgrading the physical properties of the buildings alone may not be enough to reduce their energy consumption, since occupants’ behaviour is a determining factor on the real consumption of a building. In this regard, the use of in-home displays (IHDs) can represent a valid help for increasing user awareness, while also preventing the so-called rebound effect. Recent studies have questioned the estimates of benefits of IHDs available in the literature. In this context, the aim of this work is to provide detailed qualitative and quantitative analyses of the effect of IHDs on more than 200 apartments in four Danish buildings. The consumptions of heating, electricity and water were monitored along with the tenants’ use of the IHDs. Qualitative research methods were used to provide context to the quantitative findings and helped explaining the findings of the quantitative analyses. The qualitative research activities began in September 2015 and continued until October 2019, while the energy monitoring campaign was performed in the period December 2016 – June 2019. In one building, the screens did not work for more than a year after installation. When the IHDs started working in this building, the average consumption of cold water, hot water, electricity and heating decreased by 17%, 23%, 12% and 17%, respectively. End-user interviews supported this and found a positive impact of the IHDs. There was no correlation between the residents' level of interactions with the IHDs and the consumption.

Sensors, sense-making and sensitivities: UK household experiences with a feedback display on energy consumption and indoor environmental conditions

Smart metering of domestic energy use allows consumer feedback through in-home displays (IHDs), websites or smart phone apps. Research has illustrated the need for additional ‘sense-making’ information to help households make informed energy-related decisions. This study investigates how household members respond when energy consumption data is integrated with information on indoor environmental conditions (IECs) and coupled with advice on energy saving actions. An integrated system of energy meters and IEC sensors was trialled in 19 predominantly social housing properties in the Midlands (England). Households were provided with a tablet computer and feedback was provided via a dedicated ‘Energy Dashboard’ web-based software application (app). The app was designed in collaboration with the social housing provider to display electricity and gas consumption data as well as data on three IECs: relative humidity, carbon dioxide and temperature. This paper draws on the findings from two rounds of semi-structured interviews with participants. All respondents using the app reported that they made use of the IEC data within the sense-making process, finding temperature and humidity to be useful in linking energy consumption, activities and household conditions. Interpretation of IEC data tended to increase with time as understanding increased. However, different users ‘noticed’, ‘interpreted’ and ‘enacted’ information differently as they integrated this with other sources of information, such as feedback from household members and experiential knowledge. The findings suggest that, whilst incorporating greater contextual information, such as IECs, into feedback displays can help users make sense of domestic energy consumption, the outcomes of the sense-making process will be different for different households. Nevertheless, the provision of such information appears to support householders to make decisions about their energy management that they feel appropriate for their household’s wellbeing needs, within the bounds of their agency.

Interface design for in-home displays

In-home displays can support behavioral changes by providing users with real time information (or feedback) on their energy consumption. Previous studies have shown that the design of such devices plays an important role in effectively communicating such information to users and that preferences are culturally-depend. This paper examines information elements best suited to the Brazilian context for children, adults, and elderly. It explores the preference, ranking, and understanding in addition to the ideal in-home display for each user profile. Lastly, display prototypes suited to each user profile are also proposed based on the results of seven focus groups totaling fifty participants. Real-time consumption was one of the most important information whereas penalty was the least. All participants preferred historical comparison to normative comparison. Numerical formats were better understood than ambient formats for real-time consumption. In addition, children and adults preferred and designed ambient formats whereas elderly preferred numerical information in monetary unit. Elderly would like to keep the display simple whereas adults and children need more interactive designs. These findings contribute to more effective in-home display design particularly for the Brazilian context, where smart meter and in home-displays are not extensively adopted.

How smart do smart meters need to be?

Governments across the world are investing in smart metering devices that report energy use to the user with the aim of reducing consumption. However, the effectiveness of such In-Home Displays (IHDs) has been questioned, since savings are small. This is possibly because informing the consumer of their consumption in kWh, or monetary units, fails to give context, or inform of possible actions to reduce consumption. We investigate, for the first time, the effect of replacing the simple statement of energy use an IHD gives, with a detailed array of information specifically designed to improve consumer energy literacy and suggest behaviour change through personalised actionable messages set against a series of psychological value systems for context, and which can identify potential profligacy. The results from a carefully controlled field experiment show: 1) value framing and action prompts have a significant effect on occupants' behaviour, with the mean temperature of homes being reduced from 22.4 °C to 21.7 °C, and a marked reduction in gas consumption—22.0% overall and 27.2% in high consumers; 2) energy literacy increasing from 0.52 to 1.28 (on a 0–4 scale); 3) it is possible to target potentially profligate households, without inappropriately messaging others; 4) engagement is high, with 82% of the participants finding the system useful. These results emphasize the necessity of improving energy literacy when encouraging energy efficient behaviours and point to a new generation of smart meters with the potential to increase energy literacy, make much greater savings and impact climate change policy.

Nudging electricity consumption using TOU pricing and feedback: evidence from Irish households

This paper analyses the electricity usage of 5000 Irish residential consumers in response to the introduction of Time Of Use (TOU) tariffs and three different forms of financial feedback: immediate feedback from in-home displays (IHD), monthly billing and bimonthly billing. Half-hourly data on consumption collected during the trial indicated that TOU tariffs reduced consumption at peak, with some reductions lasting beyond the end of the peak period and post-peak spikes in usage were not observed. IHD feedback resulted in the most reliable reductions and bimonthly billing the least. Moreover, consumers slightly increase the electricity usage during the first hours of the night and early in the morning. Households with greater education react to the information associated to the TOU tariffs slightly more than the average.

Smart Meters and In-Home Displays to Encourage Water Conservation through Behavioural Change

Smart Meters and In-Home Displays to Encourage Water Conservation through Behavioural Change

Information Acquisition, Dynamic Pricing of Electricity, and Conservation Requests: Evidence from a Field Experiment

This article uses panel data on how frequently households use in-home displays (IHD) in a randomized field experiment to investigate how acquiring information from IHDs affects electricity usage of households facing either dynamic pricing of electricity or conservation requests. Providing IHDs, which enables households to see a graph of their half-hourly electricity consumption in real time, is a promising policy intervention that corrects for biases associated with inattention and limited information-processing capacity by promoting salience and learning. Contrary to the energy-conservation literature, I find that IHD usage consistently raised electricity consumption of households. This perverse impact of IHD usage on energy conservation increased through learning over time as the experiment proceeds. However, an interactive effect of IHD provision and dynamic pricing implies that providing an IHD together with pecuniary incentive schemes could be effective in energy conservation.

Householder engagement with energy consumption feedback: the role of community action and communications

The provision of energy consumption feedback on in-home displays (IHDs) has a prominent role in government strategies for domestic energy demand reduction. Research suggests that IHDs can support energy consumption reduction, but also that engagement with IHDs can be limited to men and is often short-term. In this paper, we draw on research carried out in Smart Communities, a two-year project in which electricity and gas consumption feedback played a key role. This study was distinctive because it was accompanied by a weekly email communications programme and was provided within the context of community action. Project findings suggest that, although by no means panaceas, approaches such as these can support long-term engagement with energy consumption feedback, including by women, and can support behaviour change.

Using in-home displays to provide smart meter feedback about household electricity consumption: A randomized control trial comparing kilowatts, cost, and social norms

A randomized control field experiment is reported using in-home displays to reduce household electricity consumption. Custom-coded in-home displays (IHDs) were created to provide real-time household electricity consumption feedback, and were framed as either (a) simple kW consumption, or (b) kW consumption and the corresponding cost, or (c) kW consumption and a dynamically-derived social normative frame. Analyses focused on household electricity consumption in the first week following deployment, and again over a 3-month time span. Findings showed that households receiving simple feedback, and feedback framed as cost did not differ significantly from the randomized control at either the 1-week or the 3-month time points. Similarly, results showed that educational materials alone did not reduce electricity consumption. However, significant effects were found for households receiving the normative frame, which consumed 9% less than control households during the initial 1-week evaluation period, and 7% less during the full 3-month evaluation period. Yet despite these findings, residents reported more positive experiences and more obligations to conserve electricity with the cost and feedback IHDs. The results suggest that in-home displays offer promise for encouraging energy conservation, but careful consideration should be given to the way that the feedback is framed.

The ageing population and smart metering: A field study of householders’ attitudes and behaviours towards energy use in Scotland

Smart grids, smart metering and in-home displays (IHD) are expected to contribute to demand side management partly by increasing user knowledge whilst improving comfort, safety and the ability to cope with increasing costs. With an increasingly ageing population, the awareness and views of older people on energy use, technology, smart meters, smart grids are becoming progressively more important. Their behaviours regarding energy and technology use differ from the majority as they are usually living on low incomes and are at risk of fuel poverty. It is therefore important to understand their acceptance, engagement or resistance to smart metering, IHDs and external control of home appliances and heating. Their willingness and capacity to change time-use behaviours and reduce consumption is crucial.A study of older tenants in rural Scotland is presented. Sensors and IHDs were installed to measure and display electricity costs and consumption of large appliances and the electricity supply for each house, and show internal household and external temperatures. Householder’s use of energy, habits and routine, strategies for keeping warm and attitudes towards technology, smart metering, IHDs and direct external control of appliances and heating were explored through interviews. Conclusions identify significant implications for future research and policy.

Case Study of Smart Meter and In-home Display for Residential Behavior Change in Shanghai, China

Smart meters and in-home displays (IHD) have been recently adopted to help give residential consumers more control over energy consumption, and to help meet environmental and security of supply objectives. The paper aims to identify the effectiveness of smart meters and real-time IHDs in reducing Shanghai household energy consumption through a pilot investigation. The research results demonstrate the improved awareness, understanding, and attitudes towards the energy saving by smart meters and IHDs.

The Effects of In-Home Displays—Revisiting the Context

In this paper, we investigate the extent to which the use of in-home displays affects daily practices and electricity consumption. Through two pilot projects, in-home displays were installed in 33 Norwegian homes, and we provide a qualitative analysis of the effects. The results point to the potential differences in the ways households interact with the in-home displays. The effects differed among various groups according to people’s previous experiences with monitoring and their level of affluence. In the sample, affluent respondents living in detached houses tended to be accustomed to monitoring consumption before the display was introduced. These families used the display for controlling that “nothing was wrong”, but they did not use the information provided by the display to initiate new energy saving measures. In contrast, among less affluent flat owners the notion of “control” was specifically linked to the family’s management of finances, and in this sense the displays empowered them. In addition, the results indicate that the in-home display for this group resulted in electricity savings. The study adds to earlier research on the effects of in-home displays by showing the importance of previous experience with monitoring electricity for the effects of feedback and by highlighting not only energy savings but also social effects of displays.

Smart metering for residential energy efficiency: The use of community based social marketing for behavioural change and smart grid introduction

Community-based social marketing (CBSM) has shown to be very effective at inducing behavioural change due to its pragmatic approach. It has been found that nonintegrated intensive approaches towards changing individual's behaviour, such as education and economic self-interest are not successful.This paper will explain how a large urban electricity meter replacement program can achieve a reduction in peak demand and overall energy consumption through the use of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI or ‘smart meters’) coupled with CBSM, which in turn enables the progression towards a ‘smart grid’. In order to measure success the following targets were set:•Peak demand reduction (peak lopping) of 20% from the households participating in the Behaviour Change Programs (BCPs).•Peak demand shifting (load shifting) to reduce energy consumption during ‘super peak’ by 10% in BCP participating households.•Average total energy use reduction of 10% in BCP participating households.The energy efficiency actions discussed with householders during eco-coaching, and other feedback communications, are identified by utilising the information regarding barriers and benefits generated from the research phase prior to coaching. These actions can include referral to other initiatives such as the provision of reduced cost solar PV power systems, direct load control devices for domestic air-conditioners, the time-of-use pricing product, the provision of in-home-displays (IHD) and other devices necessary for development of a ‘smart grid’.

Inducing [sub]conscious energy behaviour through visually displayed energy information: A case study in university accommodation

Direct feedback on energy use presented by in-home displays (IHDs) has been found to be useful in helping people learn about their energy use and make a reduction. However, it is not yet clear what is the best form in which to present energy information. Two six-week experiments were carried out in student residences at the University of Bath, UK, to investigate how visually displayed energy information presented in different ways could encourage reductions in energy use. Experiment 1 compared three energy display interface designs (one giving numerical information, one using analogue dials and one using emotional faces) all presenting the same information. This resulted in a 7.7% savings over baseline. Experiment 2 examined how well participants responded to ranking information in numerical format about their own consumption. This resulted in a 2.5% reduction from baseline. Although there was a trend towards the ambient faces display performing best, all the displays led to a reduction in energy use. A significant decrease in consumption was also seen in the groups that saw ranking information, whether compared to their baseline consumption or to the control groups. In conclusion, it would appear that the mere presence of a display device can reduce energy use, even when participants are not engaged with the display.

Enabling technologies and energy savings: The case of EnergyWise Smart Meter Pilot of Connexus Energy

We examine the demand impact of a smart meter pilot conducted by Connexus Energy from 2008 until 2010. We focus on the amount of peak time energy use reduction, either through forgone usage or load shifting to off-peak times, as a result of enabling technologies in the form of in-home displays and smart thermostats. The in-home display allows the treatment group members to voluntarily alter their power use during “red alert” (critical peak) days. The smart thermostats also installed for the treatment group enable the utility to reduce AC usage of that group during red alert days by remotely turning up the temperature setting by 3 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) (i.e., a form of direct load control). We use hourly fixed effects models to examine peak time energy use changes in the summer of 2010. We find that treatment group members reduced their peak time energy use relative to the control group, which had no in-home displays or smart thermostats. Treatment group members who had the enabling technologies used, on average, 0.47 less kW, or 15% less energy, during peak hours on an average red alert day.

A laboratory test of the efficacy of energy display interface design

In-home displays (IHDs) have the potential to change the way energy use feedback is communicated to householders and to induce behavioural change by providing real-time information on energy consumption. How feedback is presented to users and how users understand the meaning of such feedback depends on the design of the display interface. This paper presents a laboratory study to investigate how the user interface of energy displays might be best designed. The work studied people's ability to spot changes in smart meters by comparing three different types of display design to see which was most effective in attracting attention to changing information, and whether the use of colour would also facilitate detecting changes. A computerised spot-the-difference task was undertaken; accuracy rates and response times were the key dependent variables, and qualitative information on participant preferences was gathered in interviews after the computerised task. Results showed that there was a difference between design types presenting the same information: simple numerical displays were superior to pictographic or analogue scale designs in both response time and accuracy. They also showed that the use of colour did not significantly affect performance. In general, participants also subjectively preferred numerical design for their in-home energy displays.

The impact of informational feedback on energy consumption—A survey of the experimental evidence

In theory, In-Home Displays (IHDs) can revolutionize the way utilities communicate information to customers because they can induce changes in customer behavior even when they are not accompanied by a change in electric prices or rebates for purchasing efficient equipment. IHDs provide consumers with direct feedback—real-time information on energy consumption and costs—and turn a once opaque and static electric bill into a transparent, dynamic, and controllable process. However, to what extent do consumers actually respond to the direct feedback provided by IHDs? In this paper, we seek to empirically answer this question by reviewing a dozen utility pilot programs in North America and abroad that focus on the energy conservation impact of IHDs. We also review overall customer opinions and attitudes towards IHDs and direct feedback to the extent that this information is available from the pilot studies. Our review indicates that the direct feedback provided by IHDs encourages consumers to make more efficient use of energy. We find that consumers who actively use an IHD can reduce their consumption of electricity on average by about 7 percent when prepayment of electricity is not involved. When consumers both use an IHD and are on an electricity prepayment system, they can reduce their electricity consumption by about twice that amount. In regard to demand response impacts, we find that the impact of time-of-use rates is augmented by direct feedback from IHDs.

Piloting the Smart Grid

The transformative power of the smart grid is enormous. It is receiving much consideration from utilities and commissions across North America. Several members of the European Union, China, Japan and other nations are also engaged in the same endeavor. The smart grid has the potential for revolutionizing the way we produce and consume electricity but because it contains so many new elements, its core value proposition remains untested. The unanswered questions include: • What new services will the smart grid provide customers? • Do customers want these new services? • Will they respond by changing their energy use patterns? The answers to these questions will help policymakers in federal and state government determine whether the benefits of the smart grid will cover its costs. It is widely understood that the new services enabled by the smart grid will include different rate designs that encourage curtailment of peak loads and make more efficient use of energy. Examples include dynamic pricing and inclining block rates. These innovative rate designs will be enhanced by various automating technologies such as Energy Orbs, programmable communicating thermostats (PCTs), whole building energy management systems (Auto DR), and in-home displays (IHDs). The smart grid will of course go beyond smart meters and rate design and enable renewable energy resources to be connected to the grid. This will allow optimal use of intermittent resources, such as wind, which often reach their peak generating capacity during off-peak hours. New off-peak loads, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which reduce overall energy consumption and improve the carbon footprint, will be energized by the smart grid. To address the likely impact of the smart grid on customers, utilities, and society as a whole, it may be necessary to conduct a pilot. When should a pilot be conducted and how should it be conducted? To be useful, a pilot must yield credible results. This requires that the pilot satisfy various validity criteria. These issues form the focus of this paper. We provide examples from several recent pilots that involved dynamic pricing, a key element of the smart gird. The concluding section discusses how a hypothetical company, SMART POWER, should go about designing its own pilot.

The Impact of Informational Feedback on Energy Consumption -- A Survey of the Experimental Evidence

In theory, In-Home Displays (IHDs) can revolutionize the way utilities communicate information to customers because they can induce changes in customer behavior even when they are not accompanied by a change in electric prices or rebates for purchasing efficient equipment. IHDs provide consumers with direct feedback - real-time information on energy consumption and costs - and turn a once opaque and static electric bill into a transparent, dynamic, and controllable process. However, to what extent do consumers actually respond to the direct feedback provided by IHDs?In this paper, we seek to empirically answer this question by reviewing a dozen utility pilot programs in North America and abroad that either focus on the energy conservation impact of IHDs or study demand-side management technologies and include IHDs as one of the tools. We also review overall customer opinions and attitudes towards IHDs and direct feedback to the extent that this information is available from the pilot studies.Our review indicates that the direct feedback provided by IHDs encourages consumers to make more efficient use of energy. We find that consumers who actively use an IHD can reduce their consumption of electricity on average by about seven percent when prepayment of electricity is not involved. When consumers both use an IHD and are on an electricity prepayment system, they can reduce their electricity consumption by about twice that amount. In regard to demand response impacts, we find that the impact of time-of-use rates is augmented by direct feedback from IHDs.