Time to 'like' the energy internet

By Elisa Wood
October 19, 2011

We hear a lot about the upcoming democratization of energy. But with the average consumer thinking about energy only six minutes per year, it’s fair to wonder if anyone will show up to ‘vote.’

But this week an alliance that includes the intriguing combination of Opower and Facebook offers promise that this futuristic concept may not be so far off into the future.

The democratization of energy gives consumers the ability to take charge of their electricity production and use via new technologies, much the way they’ve gained control over information flow via the Internet. Think rooftop solar panels and plug-in electric vehicles, which together give you the ability to not only make your own energy, but also store it and sell it. Combine these technologies with smart meters, dynamic pricing, virtual net metering, solar gardens, home energy displays and Internet-enabled appliances and you have an electricity system that looks far different than today’s. Large energy producers and operators now control the electric grid, but a democratized grid distributes this control to the rest of us. You and I, in essence, become the power plant.

The democratization of energy, also called the energy internet, holds a lot of appeal in a world where we feel like victims of larger forces that control our economic fate. When oil prices spike, we helplessly take another financial hit.

The energy internet promises to help us be more energy efficient, save money, in some cases make money, and enjoy more comfort and automation in our homes.

However, so far, consumers haven’t shown much interest in taking charge of their energy use, even in fundamental ways. Perhaps this is because the concept of energy democratization seems remote and speculative – to those who think about it at all. I’m reminded of the nascent days of the Internet, when futurists made lofty claims that it would change banking, shopping and the workplace, and even revolutionize politics worldwide through an inexorable flow of information. At the time, most of us still saw the computer as little more than a difficult-to-use word processing machine.

Apple Computer changed that by making the computer more user-friendly. Opower (andsimilar companies) is the Apple of the energy internet, in that it’s figuring out ways to give energy efficiency technologies consumer appeal. Opower does this by tapping into oursocial instincts and playing on our sense of community, camaraderie and even competition to incite us to pursue energy efficiency in our homes.

But the work is being done community by community, so it’s slow going. So far Opower has sent its home energy report – a key ingredient of its method – to 3 million households. How to speed it up? That’s where Facebook comes into play, with its 800 million worldwide users all meeting and socializing in one big virtual spot.

Opower intends to use Facebook to set up friendly competitions among households. If yours is one of the 60 US utilities that already partners with Opower, you’ll be able to download your home’s actual energy use from Facebook, compare it against similar households and chart your progress with regular updates from your utility. The Natural Resources Defense Council, the third leg of the partnership, will provide environmental information.

Opower envisions social networking groups and communities forming around their new energy knowledge. These groups could have a significant impact on the success or defeat of energy efficiency products and businesses. Think about how fast video gets passed around Facebook of cats doing cute things. That could instead be word of a hot, new energy product. Or conversely news could go viral of the light bulb that burns out too quickly or the appliance that fails to live up to its promise. Energy efficiency companies will need to be on their toes.

The partnership plans to launch the new venture early next year in the Chicago area through Commonwealth Edison. It’s fair to assume that many will ‘like’ it.

Elisa Wood’s Facebook page is Energy Efficiency Insights. Please ‘like’ it.

Time to change habits, as well as light bulbs?

By Elisa Wood

November 16, 2010

We are bombarded daily by advertisements selling us soft drinks, pharmaceuticals, cars, insurance, junk food, teeth whitener, diet programs, and on and on. But when was the last time someone tried to sell you on using more electricity?

I cannot think of a single commercial that encourages us to plug-in, even though electricity is the chief product of 3,000 utilities in the United States.

This speaks to how easy it is to access and use electric energy; its relative cheapness, invisibility, and integral role in daily life. No need exists for utilities to market electricity; we devour electrons blindly.

So how do you convince people to conserve something that they use so much, yet hardly even notice they buy?

Behavioral science may hold the answers, as pointed out in a new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, “Visible and Concrete Savings: Case Studies of Effective Behavioral Approaches to Improving Customer Energy Efficiency.”

Getting consumers to save energy is as much a people problem as a technology problem. Or as the report puts it: “To achieve greater energy savings through energy efficiency, we need to design and build programs that change habits as well as light bulbs.”

The report highlights 10 energy efficiency programs that have done so. The programs include: building operator certification, in-home energy monitoring, media messaging, keeping up with the Jones emotional pressure, ATM-like energy purchasing, in-home energy displays, employer cheerleading, corporate energy management, green recognition, and feebates – fees or rebates for cars based on their energy efficiency.

What do these programs tell us about human behavior when it comes to energy efficiency? For one thing, we need to see how much energy we use, clearly displayed in our homes as we use it. And we need proof – true measurement and verification – that our efforts to conserve pay off. Such data also encourages political support for efficiency programs.

The report finds we worry about social norms – if we learn our neighbors save more energy than we do, we try harder. And believe it or not, money doesn’t really motivate us very much. Or at least we do not always make rational economic decisions. We are more apt to act based on values, curiosity, self-esteem, and other non-economic motivators. When money is used as an incentive, bonuses need to be large and immediate, not spread out over time.

The report is available here. http://www.aceee.org/research-report/e108

Elisa Wood is co-author of “Energy Efficiency Incentives for Businesses 2010: Eastern States,” available at www.realenergywriters.com.

Is there romance in energy efficiency?

By Elisa Wood

January 29, 2009

My mother told me many good reasons why I should get married. She appears to have forgotten one. It’s energy efficient.

Single people – at least those without roommates – appear to be gobbling up a lot of our energy supply. In fact, one person households are a main cause of consumer energy waste, according to a recent study “Consumer Energy Spending and the Demographics of Over-Consumption” by SMR Research. http://www.smrresearch.com/Energysummary.htm.

One in four households contains just one person. Singleton households have grown at rate three times faster than the population since 1960. Singletons use 18.4% more energy per capita than two-person households and 52.8% more than three-person households.

And it is not just that these folks live alone. Like all of us they live in bigger and bigger houses. The average new home is 34% larger than one built in 1980. People in a house with ten or more rooms use 18.8% more energy than those in eight-room homes, and 31.3% more than people in seven-room homes. The age of the house doesn’t matter.

Reversing this trend could dramatically reduce U.S. energy use. Yet, household demographics and home building are seldom mentioned in the debate over global warming and energy independence, say the researchers.

“This study shows that energy conservationists need a new public message,” said SMR President Stuart A. Feldstein. “The old focus on things like home insulation and auto fleet mileage is incomplete. People who decide to live alone, now more than one of every four households, and people who buy the McMansions, are those who squander our energy resources.”

Is it fair of us to single out singletons? Probably not. We all are guilty of energy waste in our own ways. Still with ‘green’ so popular these days, has no one yet proposed marriage with: “Will you be mine? It’s energy efficient.”

Visit Elisa Wood at www.realenergywriters.com and pick up her free Energy Efficiency Markets podcast and newsletter.