Tech-savvy consumers like the idea of smart energy technologies, as long as they don’t have to constantly monitor and adjust these systems.
Parks Associates, which hosted this week’s Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer in San Antonio, TX, released results of a survey on consumer awareness of smart energy options showing that nearly 50 percent of U.S. broadband households are very interested in a thermostat capable of automatically detecting an unoccupied house and adjusting the temperature to save money. The research firm notes that consumer interest in automated energy management overall is increasing.
“Consumers appreciate the benefits of smart technologies, but they don’t want to constantly monitor their home’s energy consumption,” said John Barrett, director, consumer analytics, Parks Associates. “Minimally invasive energy management is preferred, and the top-rated smart thermostat features reduce consumption through automatic adjustments.”
The research also showed that consumers’ energy-saving activities remained the same from 2011 to 2012 and that their energy consciousness is still low compared to the peak in 2010,”
Parks Associates found that 12 percent of U.S. broadband households have access to a website showing their daily energy consumption patterns, but nearly 90 percent use it less than once per week.
Sponsored by Alarm.com, ecobee, EcoFactor, GreenWave Reality, Hitachi, Lowe’s, PlanetEcosystems, Qualcomm, Sigma Designs, AlertMe, IPSO Alliance, and Itron, the fourth-annual Smart Energy Summit examined the expanding market for energy solutions and home controls and its impact on utilities, service providers, retailers, manufacturers, and consumers.
