What’s energy management got to do with it? Exploring the role of energy management in the smart home adoption process

Abstract

There are high hopes for smart home technology to deliver energy management solutions, including through smart thermostats, plugs, lights, switches, and appliances. However, adoption of these technologies is lagging behind expectations. Moreover, it is unclear how energy management features in the smart home consumer adoption process. We know there is technical potential for the smart home to support energy management, but we know little about the degree to which energy benefits interest consumers and motivate them to adopt smart home technologies relative to non-energy benefits such as security, comfort, and convenience, which could have implications for increasing rather than decreasing energy consumption. To that point, we know little about whether and how the energy management functionalities of smart home products are actually used by adopters. The present research investigated consumers' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and experiences with smart home technology in order to assess barriers to adoption and to achieving purported energy benefits. Specifically, we studied shoppers at smart home retailers to gauge their existing awareness of and attitudes toward smart home technology, and we analyzed Amazon customer reviews of smart home products to better understand early adopters' motivations and experiences. Results revealed challenges to achieving energy benefits with existing products and marketing strategies, and implications for shaping the future of these technologies to achieve energy demand reductions and load shifting capabilities at scale for the smart home and smart grid of the future.

Optimal Management of the Energy Flows of Interconnected Residential Users

“…Wouters et al [38] employed a MILP model to evaluate the integration of distributed generation units and microgrids in the current grid infrastructure and identify its optimal design. The latest updates about EMSs are documented in [39][40][41]. In particular, Ford et al [39] highlighted that there is a lack of understanding of how users interact.…”

“…Rafique et al [40] identified the optimal scheduling of electrical and gas energy resources for a smart home by using a genetic algorithm. Sanguinetti et al [41] investigated the energy benefits related to smart home technology. Instead, Allegrini et al [42] reviewed the tools that address district-level energy systems by focusing on district-level interactions.…”

An Intelligent Hybrid Energy Management System for a Smart House Considering Bidirectional Power Flow and Various EV Charging Techniques

“…The idea of an SH is an emerging topic in the recent research, and it has a great potential of improvement due to its diverse nature. Though the impression of SH is very attractive, it faces diverse challenges, especially associated with energy management [12,13]. There are several studies that address the energy management system (EMS) of an SH, and a comprehensive survey of the existing literature is presented as follows:…”

Of impacts, agents, and functions: An interdisciplinary meta-review of smart home energy management systems research

“…SHEMS represent a subset of the wider smart home, internet of things, and home energy management product industries [11]. Traditionally, home energy management technologies have been defined as technologies that "enable households to manage their energy consumption by providing information about how they use energy and/or by allowing them (or third parties) to control energy consumption in the home" [12].…”