Description |
Societal pressures coupled to technological advances necessitate that energy planning be conducted not only with the techno-economic paradigm in mind, but also taking into consideration environmental, political, and social sustainability factors, as well as consumers' capacity to implement required changes. Projections considering current energy policies demonstrate that global electricity consumption will grow by 84% in the next 25 years. As such, energy efficiency is a core element of the 20/20/20 objectives but also a major prerequisite to move forward towards the 40/27/27 objectives by 2030. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are an important means by which energy efficiencies may be achieved. However, consumers are still hesitant to adopt ICT technologies that contribute to energy efficiency, for many and diverse reasons. Furthermore, the vast majority of residential customers are not exposed to price signals provided in multiple ways via different pricing models and rate designs. The motivation for this project is the need to present to consumers evidence-based results on the costs and benefits of ICT-enabled energy efficiency techniques, together with clear and on-time, engaging guidance and support on how to realize the energy savings available, so as to widen user adoption of such techniques and increase their effectiveness. |