Home energy monitors: Impact over the medium-term

Home energy monitors: Impact over the medium-term

Van Dam, S.S.
Bakker, C.A.
Van Hal, J.D.M.

Architecture

Real Estate & Housing

2010-08-25

Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), e.g. energy monitors, are intermediary products that can visualize, manage, and/or monitor the energy use of other products or whole households. HEMS increasingly receive attention for their role in energy conservation in households. A literature review and a case study examine the mid-term effectiveness (more than 4 months) of HEMS. The case study presents the results of a 15-month pilot with a domestic energy monitor in the Netherlands. It explores the extent to which participants manage to sustain their initial electricity savings over time, with a special focus on the development of habitual energy-saving behaviour. The results show that the initial savings in electricity consumption of 7.8% after 4 months could not be sustained in the medium- to long-term. A second finding is that certain groups of people seem more receptive to energy-saving interventions than others. These participants quickly develop new habits and exhibit larger savings than other participants. Obviously, a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach for home energy monitors cannot be justified. For HEMS to be effective, a deeper understanding is needed that embraces social science, contextual factors, usability, and interaction design research.

captology
energy demand
energy management
energy monitor
Home Energy Management System (HEMS)
housing
occupant behaviour
smart metering
usability

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:05e8ce7c-aa82-4f89-be0a-fc473bdc1482

https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2010.494832

Routledge, Taylor & Francis group

0961-3218

http://www.tandfonline.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=0961-3218&volume=38&issue=5&spage=458

Building Research & Information, 38 (5), 2010

Institutional Repository

journal article

(c) 2010 Van Dam, S.S.
Bakker, C.A.
Van Hal, J.D.M.