Abstract
Trials of technologies designed to promote residential demand-side energy management (DSM) have found aggregate levels of load-shifting behaviour and curtailment in energy use. These aggregate data, however, mask considerable differences in people's engagement in DSM at an individual household level. We present the findings of a quantitative exploration of people's intentions to use a home energy management system (HEMS) for residential DSM in the United Kingdom. The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used in conjunction with constructs measuring psychological empowerment and environmental attitudes to explore participants' acceptance of a HEMS to facilitate load-shifting. Findings from a mediation analysis showed perceptions of the usefulness of the HEMS and its ease of use were important predictors of people's intentions to use one. They also highlight a potential conflict between an individual's home energy consumption goals and national DSM goals. The implications of these findings for understanding end-user acceptance of HEMS are discussed. We conclude that seeking opportunities to promote shared, internalised goals for residential DSM may be an avenue for increasing the uptake and use of technologies designed to enable load-shifting (and other energy conservation behaviours) among end-users.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 111343 |
Journal | Energy Policy |
Volume | 139 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding: This work was supported by the EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Interdisciplinary Energy Research (E-Futures) .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Funding
Funding: This work was supported by the EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in Interdisciplinary Energy Research (E-Futures) .
Keywords
- Demand side management
- Goal internalisation
- Home energy management system
- Smart energy technology
- Technology acceptance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Energy
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law