The Challenge

In 2015, California passed Assembly Bill 793 (AB 793), which mandates utilities to create incentive programs that encourage residential and small business customers to acquire energy management technologies. The bill aimed to empower consumers with technologies like smart thermostats, energy management platforms, and home automation systems to optimize energy use and reduce peak demand. Despite the promise of these technologies, adoption was lacking and there was limited understanding among potential customers regarding how to effectively implement and scale programs to encourage their adoption. Utilities needed a comprehensive strategy and evidence-based insights to design programs that could overcome barriers to adoption, maximize energy savings, and align with the state’s broader decarbonization goals.

The Client

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is one of the largest utilities in California, serving millions of residential and business customers. PG&E reached out to See Change Institute to rigorously analyze the landscape of home energy management systems (HEMS) and provide data-driven insights that could inform the design of effective home energy management programs. PG&E recognized that HEMS adoption could play a pivotal role in reducing energy demand, improving grid efficiency, and advancing the state’s sustainability goals; See Change’s goal was to increase understanding of consumer behaviors, identify key barriers to adoption, and craft strategies to make these technologies more accessible and appealing to PG&E’s customers.

Our Approach

See Change’s work to meet these goals spanned two phases. In Phase I, we reviewed existing literature and conducted foundational research to understand the state of HEMS in the market. In Phase II, we expanded our research with consumer-focused and industry-specific studies, which culminated in a comprehensive roadmap for PG&E to develop their programs.

Phase I

1. Systematic Literature Review. We reviewed existing studies on HEMS savings potential, adoption rates, and the broader landscape of energy management technologies.
2. Delphi Study. We conducted a Delphi study with key stakeholders from industry, government, and academia to assess expert opinions on HEMS’ potential and challenges.
3. Product and Market Mapping. We identified key HEMS products and major players in the market, helping PG&E understand the competitive and technological landscape.

Our findings were published by the California Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council (ETCC).

Phase II

Building on Phase I, in Phase II we deepened the research with several consumer, technology, and industry studies to inform PG&E’s program development:

1. Online Survey. We surveyed 1,500 utility customers to gauge awareness, attitudes, and barriers to adopting HEMS.
2. Ethnographic Fieldwork. We partnered with Target and Sears at their smart home demonstration spaces in the Bay Area to conduct in-depth ethnographic research, observing customer interactions and product engagement.
3. Product Review Analysis. We conducted a content analysis of over 3,000 Amazon product reviews to understand consumer sentiment and product performance.
4. Comprehensive Product Assessment. We reviewed 300+ commercially available HEMS products to understand their features, usability, and market penetration.
5. Systems Assessment. We performed a protocol analysis and developed user scenarios to evaluate how different HEMS products work together within a smart home ecosystem.
6. Stakeholder Analysis. We interviewed and surveyed utilities, regulators, researchers, vendors, retailers, and industry organizations to gather insights on challenges, opportunities, and best practices.

These findings were also published by the California Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council.

The Outcome

This research culminated in a comprehensive roadmap and set of recommendations to support PG&E’s development of incentive programs for HEMS adoption. Key deliverables included:

• A report detailing findings and recommendations for HEMS program design and implementation.
• Insights into customer barriers, attitudes, and behaviors that could inform PG&E’s messaging and outreach efforts.
• Stakeholder engagement strategies to ensure buy-in from industry partners, regulators, and retailers.

Our findings were shared through several journal publications and conference presentations, reaching a broad audience in the energy and technology sectors. SCI presented these insights at over 20 regional, national, and international conferences from 2016 to 2018, influencing global program design and policies. Conference and journal publications from this work include the following:

1. Categories and Functionality of Smart Home Technology for Energy Management
2. Smart home consumers: Comparing self-reported and observed attitudes
3. Smarter Together? A Stakeholder Analysis of Perspectives on Home Energy Management 
4. Smart Home Energy Management: Use Cases and Savings Opportunities
5. Home Energy Management (HEM) database: a list with coded attributes of 308 devices commercially available in the US.
6. Smart Home Energy Management (HEM) Products: Characterizing and Comparing Adoption, Experiences, and Outcomes
7. Understanding the path to smart home adoption: Segmenting and describing consumers across the innovation-decision process.
8. What’s energy management got to do with it? Exploring the role of energy management in the smart home adoption process