1. Public acceptance of a ‘smarter’ energy future Alexa Spence Psychology and Horizon Digital Economy Research, University of Nottingham With Christina Demski, Catherine Butler, Karen Parkhill and Nick Pidgeon Behave Conference Sep 2014

2. Smart meters and in-home displays Smart meters and in-home displays, providing real time information on energy use and cost - In all UK homes by 2020

3. The Electricity Grid Today the ‘dumb’ electricity grid transmits electricity from power stations to homes, factories etc. Future ‘smart’ grid, including DSM technologies, will allow information as well as energy to be transmitted.

4. Demand Side Management ‘the modification of consumer demand for energy through various methods’ (changing the way that people use energy) New technologies Financial incentives Information feedback

5. National Survey  Survey conducted online with Ipsos MORI in August 2012  Quota sampling: N = 2441  Gender, age, geographic region, employment status  Survey included:  Perceptions of home energy use  Concern about wider energy issues  Acceptance of DSM scenarios (Demski et al., 2013)

6. DSM scenarios 1. Appliances automatically turning off when left on standby 2. Shower turning off after a set period of time, manual override possible 3. Setting washing machine to wash clothes before a certain time 4. Allowing fridge-freezers to be switched off for short periods 5. Having optimum time to heat water determined by network operator

7. Predicting acceptance of DSM

8. Affordability concerns N.B. Energy Security concerns included as a covariate

9. Acceptance of DSM

11. Social grade and acceptance N.B. Energy Security concerns included as a covariate

12. Conclusions  Overall people willing to reduce energy and spend time on this  People concerned about costs less accepting of DSM  Potential financial benefits not apparent or believed  Cost concerns associated with preparedness to think about energy use but also with unwillingness to share data  Less likely to own home and have capital to invest  Opportunities for DSM where autonomy and control are retained  Environmental frames should be considered  Role for policy development to promote uptake and to ensure even distribution of costs

13. Alexa Spence University of Nottingham Alexa.spence@nottingham.ac.uk UK Energy Research Centre www.ukerc.ac.uk