Chapter 21

The Holy Grail

Consumer Response to Energy Information

Chris King1 and Jessica Stromback2, 1eMeter, a Siemens Business, 2VaasaETT

1 Introduction

Since the first championing of energy efficiency by Art Rosenfeld and others in the 1970s, consumers have suffered from a lack of energy usage data, data that can greatly increase the level of achievable improvement – and further contribute to zero demand growth. How much? A recent study, discussed in detail below, found such data could lead to average usage reductions of 8.7 percent among those who engaged with the programs;1 at today’s retail prices,2 this would translate into savings for U.S. residential consumers of $15 billion per year.

Energy information feedback revolutionizes energy ...

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