Advanced Energy Perspectives

This post is one in a series featuring the complete slate of advanced energy technologies outlined in the report This Is Advanced Energy. 

Photo courtesy of EnerNOC.

Demand Response (DR) is a grid management tool through which utilities and grid operators provide information and/or incentives to customers to encourage them to reduce energy use
at specific times. DR can use control technology that automatically responds to prices or other signals, or customers may respond to a DR request manually. Load reduction is typically achieved by temporarily switching off or reducing usage from cooling or lighting or by postponing energy-using activities, although some customers may switch to onsite generation. Storage-backed DR is a growing application that enables load reduction without a shift in energy use.

This post is one in a series of feature stories on trends shaping advanced energy markets in the U.S. and around the world, drawn from Advanced Energy Now 2016 Market Report, which was prepared for AEE by Navigant Research.

In the wake of the VW clean diesel emission scandal, compression ignition engines for light-duty vehicles are undergoing enhanced scrutiny, though the market for these vehicles remains strong globally. Clean diesel vehicles dominate the advanced vehicle market in Europe in a way they do not in the United States. But as VW has struggled to update more than 11 million diesel-powered vehicles globally in response to revelation of its emissions cheating, the German automaker has expressed a newfound interest in a different form of advanced transportation: electric vehicles.

Behavioral energy efficiency (BEE) employs messaging grounded in behavioral science to produce simple, actionable messages that are relevant to customers and motivate them to save energy. The average utility customer spends just nine minutes per year interacting with their utility or electricity provider. When they do, they are likely to have one basic question: How can I save money? BEE answers this question with communications delivered through multiple channels – e.g., web, mobile, mail – to help customers get engaged and focused on reducing energy consumption and saving money. These messages include information such as how the customer’s energy use compares to that of similar homes in the same neighborhood, as well as personalized energy efficiency tips, providing customers with voluntary ways to save. BEE programs consistently produce savings of 1.5% to 2.5% per household. For context, every 1% reduction in residential electricity use nationally is roughly equivalent to the electricity used by 1.3 million homes, or nearly $1.7 billion annually.