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Feedback systems with direct feedback have shown to be effective in stimulating households to change their energy consumption levels. This research is one of the first to explore the use of apps to influence household energy use. Compared to dedicated in-home displays, smartphone/tablet apps provide a low-cost and simple design solution for making energy feedback available. This research consisted of three studies conducted with different samples within a selection of households where a smart meter was installed as part of the smart meter implementation program in the Netherlands. First, for a period of 16 months, electricity and gas consumption levels were measured for a large sample of households (n = 519) divided into an application user group and a reference group. Second, questionnaires (n = 270) provided insight in how people used the applications and to what extent the applications increased households' insight in their energy consumption and stimulated behavior changes. Third, interviews (n = 12) were held to obtain more in-depth insight. In the sample with measured energy consumption, we did not find a significant reduction in electricity and gas consumption during this research. Yet in the questionnaires, the application users reported more energy awareness and indicated to have made more investments and changes in their behavior than the reference group. Most app users started using the first app they found and did not explore the other options. The interview results indicate that, after an initial learning period, the app was used to monitor the electricity and gas consumption levels, rather than to lower them. In line with other research into feedback, the interview results suggest that the apps could be more effective with information that is more actionable and meaningful with respect to one's own specific situation and goals for the household. Further exploration is recommended with respect to how the design of such apps can encourage a wide audience not only to monitor their consumption, but also guide them in taking action to change their consumption levels.

In discussions on smart grids, it is often stated that residential end-users will play a more active role in the management of the electric power system. Experience in practice on how to empower end-users for such a role is however limited. This paper presents a field study in the first phase of the PowerMatching City project in which twenty-two households were equipped with demand-response-enabled heating systems and white goods. Although end-users were satisfied with the degree of living comfort afforded by the smart energy system, the user interface did not provide sufficient control and energy feedback to support an active contribution to the balancing of supply and demand. The full potential of demand response was thus not realized. The second phase of the project builds on these findings by design, implementation and evaluation of an improved user interface in combination with two demand response propositions.