by Shane Henson — January 27, 2014—The percentage of consumers who have “favorable” or “very favorable” attitudes toward smart meters has increased over the last few years, according to a new consumer survey conducted by Navigant Research.
As noted in the firm’s recently released white paper, Smart Grid Consumer Survey, despite the ability of smart meters to reduce energy costs, many consumers have been resistant to such technologies because of privacy concerns. This appears to be changing, however.
“While smart grid favorability has held steady year over year, in the 36 percent to 37 percent range, smart meter favorability has increased from 37 percent, in 2010, to 43 percent in 2013,” says Neil Strother, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “This result indicates that initial concerns over privacy regarding smart meters in homes are dissipating—but utilities still have some distance to go in building majority support for these technologies.”
Demand response (DR) programs, which allow a utility to remotely control energy consumption—for example, by slightly increasing the thermostat setting for homes or businesses on hot days—have the benefit of taking pressure off the grid, and provide cost savings for the consumer as a result of lower energy consumption. While this may seem like a win-win proposition, the survey results indicate that consumer interest in DR programs is not very strong. Less than 30 percent of respondents say they are “extremely interested” or “very interested” in adopting such arrangements, Navigant Research found.
The white paper details the findings from a Web-based consumer survey of 1,084 consumers in the United States that aims to provide a better understanding of widespread interest and attitudes toward a select group of smart grid concepts. The study was executed in the fall of 2013 using a nationally representative and demographically balanced sample.
The study analyzes the dynamics of consumer demand, favorability, and attitudes toward several key smart grid product and service categories: smart grids and smart meters, smart thermostats, home energy management (HEM) bundles, and DR. Navigant Research also examines consumer willingness to pay for these products, expected savings from using these technologies, and reasons for interest or disinterest in these offerings.
Navigant Research is a market research and consulting team that provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets.
