Advanced Metering Initiatives and Residential Feedback Programs: a Meta-Review for Household Electricity-Saving Opportunities
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Advanced Metering Initiatives and Residential Feedback Programs: A Meta-Review for Household Electricity-Saving Opportunities Authors: Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez,1 Kat A. Donnelly,2 & John A. “Skip” Laitner Contributors: Dan York, Jacob Talbot, & Katherine Friedrich June 2010 Report Number E105 © American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy 529 14th Street, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20045 Phone: 202-507-4000, Fax: 202-429-2248, aceee.org 1 Formerly with ACEEE, now with Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado 2 EMpower Devices and Associates Energy Savings and Advanced Metering Meta-Analysis, ACEEE CONTENTS Foreword ...........................................................................................................................................ii Executive Summary .........................................................................................................................iii About ACEEE...................................................................................................................................ix Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................ix I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 A. The Invisibility of Energy Resources .................................................................................. 1 B. Characteristics of Residential Energy Consumption .......................................................... 2 C. The Proliferation of Advanced Metering Initiatives............................................................. 5 D. Research Methodologies.................................................................................................... 8 II. Characterizing and Describing Residential Sector Feedback Technologies............................. 10 A. The Overarching System: The “Smart Grid”.................................................................... 11 B. Defining the Consumer-Side of the Smart Grid................................................................ 11 C. Indirect Feedback: Utility-Provided Feedback.................................................................. 13 D. Vendor Provided Indirect Feedback of Utility Data .......................................................... 17 E. Direct Feedback Using In-Home Energy Displays ........................................................... 22 F. Direct Feedback and Automation with “Smart” Devices................................................... 25 G. The Core: Direct Feedback and Automation Using Home Networks .............................. 27 H. Conclusions..................................................................................................................... 34 III. The Impact of Feedback on Energy Consumption: The Meta-Review ..................................... 37 A. How Feedback Works ...................................................................................................... 37 B. Review of Primary Research........................................................................................... 42 C. The Intersection of Contextual and Program Variables ................................................... 54 D. Demand Response and Feedback-Induced Energy Savings .......................................... 63 E. New Habits, Lifestyles, and Choices ................................................................................ 69 F. Section Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 74 IV. Potential Feedback-Induced Energy Savings .......................................................................... 76 V. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 84 A. Lessons Learned.............................................................................................................. 84 B. Unresolved Questions ...................................................................................................... 88 C. Recommendations to Policymakers and Utilities ............................................................. 90 VI. References ............................................................................................................................... 92 Appendix A: Summary Table of 57 Feedback Studies ................................................................ 107 Appendix B: Summary Table of Persistence Findings from 28 Feedback Studies ..................... 119 Appendix C: Summary Table of Demand Response and Overall Savings from 11 Feedback Studies ..................................................................................................................................... 127 i Energy Savings and Advanced Metering Meta-Analysis, ACEEE FOREWORD Energy efficiency programs and policies in the U.S. have emphasized use of energy-saving technologies and design practices, and have generally paid scant attention to individual behavior. By contrast, a focus on individual behavior is much more prevalent in Europe, and was also more common in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the U.S. in using behavioral approaches. Pilot programs are being developed and evaluated, conferences are being held, and new approaches are being discussed. In particular, there is growing interest in using advanced metering and other customer feedback tools to provide customers with information to encourage shifting of loads to off-peak periods and/or to encourage lower levels of overall consumption. Such approaches have the potential for substantial and cost-effective energy savings, but it can be difficult to separate the hype from legitimate claims. To address this problem, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, with support from The Overbrook Foundation, Kresge Foundation and Sea Change Foundation, decided to conduct a significant meta-review of more than 60 feedback studies we could find. We examined the results of 57 such studies which had sufficient data on the energy savings from various feedback approaches. The studies covered primarily two continents (North America and Europe) and more than three decades of research. The data is sliced and diced in various ways in order to tease out the effects of different treatments, different time periods, and differences between regions. Overall, we find that significant savings can be achieved, and also find that there are some very promising approaches that need further study. We also find many useful lessons on ways to increase energy savings using lessons from behavioral science, since like all program approaches, for feedback to have the intended results, it must be done well. We hope the results here provide a useful foundation for expanded use of feedback, and for continued experimentation. Such efforts will be important tools for achieving further increases in energy savings and cost-effectiveness. Steven Nadel Executive Director American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ii Energy Savings and Advanced Metering Meta-Analysis, ACEEE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A variety of new feedback initiatives are making energy resources visible to residential consumers throughout the United States (and many other developed countries). As summarized in the chart below, these initiatives are opening the door to potential energy savings that, on average, have reduced individual household electricity consumption 4 to 12% across our multi- continent sample.3 In so doing, feedback is proving a critical first step in engaging and empowering consumers to thoughtfully manage their energy resources. On a national scale, our estimates indicate that feedback programs for the residential sector might generate electricity savings that range from as little as 0.4% to more than 6% of total residential electricity consumption. If broadly implemented throughout the United States using well-designed programs, residential sector feedback programs could provide the equivalent of 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity savings annually by 2030. Advanced metering is likely to play an important role in meeting the data demands of feedback programs. While feedback can take many forms and need not include utilities or advanced metering initiatives (AMI), the planned proliferation of advanced meters will provide powerful new opportunities for the collection of detailed, household-level energy use data.4 In combination with a variety of enabling-technologies (e.g., appliance measurement and automation sensors), AMI could provide households with an expanded array of mechanisms for reducing energy waste and maximizing energy bill savings. Of critical importance, however, is the way in which the feedback 3 The range of savings reflects the average savings, by program type, for programs implemented between 1995 and 2010. A total of 36 programs is included. When the scope is limited to studies in the U.S., savings range from 2 to 11%. These U.S. studies took place between 1974 and 2010. 4 In addition to potential residential sector energy savings, advanced metering infrastructure can also provide utilities with the means to improve monitoring of energy distribution and transmission-related energy losses, quickly identify power outages, and reduce the need for meter readers. iii Energy Savings and Advanced