Consumers want energy use info, but don't want to pay

While most US residents say they’re concerned about their home energy costs, only a small number are willing to pay upfront to gain access to real-time and detailed information about their energy consumption, according to a new survey released today by Oracle.

Oracle’s research report, “Turning Information into Power,” finds that 95 percent of 604 consumers surveyed would like to see detailed information about their home energy use, but that only 20 percent would pay upfront for such a system. The study also found that only 6 percent of those questioned have installed some type of renewable energy source at their homes in the past 12 months.

The report also surveyed 200 US utility managers, of whom 91 percent said it was critical for the nation to adopt smart-grid technologies. However, only 41 percent of their companies have actually assessed smart-grid technologies, and just 16 percent have started to implement such systems.

The managers surveyed said the biggest obstacles to implementing smart grids in the US are “upfront consumer expenses” (42 percent) and a “lack of consistent industry technology standards” (30 percent).

“The ‘Turning Information into Power’ report indicates that while utilities are starting to make the move toward the smart grid, there is a significant opportunity to maximise results by focusing on consumer education, awareness and communication,” said Guerry Waters, vice president of industry strategy fo Oracle Utilities. “Americans want more information that will help them to make smarter decisions about their energy consumption.”