Understanding energy consumption behavior for future demand response strategy development

Encouraging consumers to use less electricity through information is essential for sustainable use of energy and demand response is indeed a key component of the smart grids concept. The aim with this study is to understand differences between consumer categories and what this could mean e.g. to develop effective demand response measures. In-depth analyses of answers from a questionnaire sent out to 2000 households, contribute to a better understanding of Swedish households' energy related behavior. The households have been provided with a web-site enabling them to check their daily electricity consumption compared to previous months/years and even get advice and tips on how to reduce electricity consumption. The results show clear differences in the response rates from different type of residence, different income areas of the city and in the most preferred ways of receiving information-feedback. The web based feedback, provided by the local energy company, received more visits (and more frequently) from respondents living in houses than from apartments. The analysis of the answers raises questions about the effectiveness of using only one tool of providing energy consumption information to the customers (web-site, in this case) and stresses the importance of applying an individual approach to different energy users. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.