Understanding your energy
How many of us truly understand our energy use? Well, more than what the utility bill shows us, anyway. We want to go green, or at least be more efficient, but how do we do it? Buying LEDs is a start. But, how does one make a real environmental impact?
We conducted a survey of 407 participants in 2015, seeking information on today’s renters. 59% of respondents were our market-changing Millennials. When asked how confident they were in their understanding of a kilowatt-hour, 41% of respondents said they were not confident at all. Only 9% were extremely confident.
The encouraging thing is, most of us still want to be efficient. Regardless of how much we actually understand our energy. Deloitte, in their annual report, found that 56% of residential customers (mainly millennials) want to use clean energy sources.
So, we want to be energy efficient. We just don’t understand how our energy works. What we need is a tool that makes understanding energy simple. And, gives us control over our use. Or, at least shows us our current trends so we’re aware.
Smart tech, like an energy management system, should be the answer. But, as Deloitte saw in their survey, even using a smart thermostat alone is intimidating. For the majority of those surveyed, they thought their current thermostat should do enough. And, there was a trending belief that smart thermostats are too expensive. According to Deloitte and their millennials, this technology is still more of a pain than it’s worth.
Besides, something like a smart thermostat alone is practically useless. Or, worse than useless — discouraging. The results can seem shallow. An entire energy management network is necessary to make smart tech truly impactful. But, for the person that barely understands electricity, an EMS can seem pretty intimidating.
The problem is, EMS are not actually as scary as people believe. They can be simple to implement, and understand. They teach users about their energy use, and show them their trends. Some even teach users about peak use times, and how to avoid rising costs to bring utility bills down. The companies behind them want residents to engage with energy in as painless an experience as possible. EMS point out problem areas, but they provide solutions, too. They make efficiency plausible.
Despite the perceived difficulties, residents continue to see the need for energy efficiency. A push for smart tech in the residential sector persists. And, the market continues to see growth.
Today, energy efficiency doesn’t have to be a big hassle. EMS companies are trying to prove that it can be easy, profitable, and even fun. It doesn’t have to be scary. And it is worth it.
