Date
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Time
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Name
Back to the Future: The Continuing Benefit of In-Home Displays in an App-Based World
Session ID
A5 - Lightning: Residential Programs
Track
Behavior - based Programs
Michelle Pham
Description

In 2013, a handful of BECC presenters discussed the potential of in-home displays (IHDs) as a tool to motivate households to change their energy using behaviors. Since then, mobile phone capabilities have expanded, and the growing application market has led to the rapid development of internet-enabled home energy management tools. Recent research suggests, however, that despite these technological gains, value remains in the seemingly old-fashioned LCD displays that our older colleagues and younger selves considered a decade ago. The authors recently conducted surveys of customers participating in two in-home display programs that ComEd operates, as well as non-participating customers. The surveys explored the usability of the IHDs, how they were integrated into users’ lifestyles, frequency of use, changes in behaviors resulting from IHD feedback, and any perceived energy and bills savings. Notably, participants with a physical, stand-alone display reported looking at their energy usage information more frequently than those who accessed similar information through an app or web portal. The surveys also examined the benefits of devices operating over a cellular pager network in bringing energy usage information to low-income households that may not have access to high-speed internet service. This presentation will share findings from our research, demonstrating how IHDs, dependent on their design, can be a low cost and easy to use home energy management opportunity. We will demonstrate how IHDs can reach a wide range of customer types, from higher-income, tech-savvy customers, to lower-income customers who may lack home internet service and examine how each group of customers benefits from the technology.

Supporting Document 1