Research examines market for consumer energy programs

Research from Parks Associates shows only 19% of consumers are very familiar with programs that offer tax rebates or other incentives in return for energy-efficiency initiatives such as home remodeling or home energy management. 360 View Update: Marketing Energy Programs: Making an Impact also shows only 15% of U.S. broadband households are very familiar with time-of-use (TOU) programs, but 36% of U.S. broadband households would participate in a program where they receive a payment for not using energy during a specific time of the day.

“Despite considerably low awareness of energy-efficiency programs, consumers are willing to take action to save energy—84% of U.S. broadband households took some kind of energy-savings action in 2015,” said Eddie Accomando, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “Utilities need to find better ways to get engaging information to their consumers.”

360 View Update:Marketing Energy Programs: Making an Impact shows informational incentives can also be valuable. Nearly 30% of U.S. broadband households are willing to participate in an energy program that provides data such as their energy usage or their major source of energy consumption in the home.

The energy sector has driven several innovative business models and partnerships to integrate energy solutions with smart home capabilities and the IoT. For example, EnergyHub, which participated at Parks Associates’ recent CONNECTIONS™ conference, announced in early May that it had established a partnership with Nest and now operates with all currently available Internet-connected thermostats. EnergyHub manages the enrollment and dispatch of Nest’s Rush Hour Rewards, a turnkey demand response solution, to maximize each thermostat’s load reduction while still keeping consumers comfortable.

“Energy providers have an opportunity to leverage smart home solutions for demand response and energy-efficiency initiatives, and the customer has a lot to gain from increased control, comfort, and convenience,” Accomando said. “Information can have a clear impact on behavior, and monetary incentives may be appealing in any economy. Marketing programs that communicate specific messages to individual segments through multiple channels are the key to expanding participation and meeting regulatory goals cost effectively.”

Marketing Energy Programs: Making an Impact uses Parks Associates’ market segmentation and classification schema to more deeply understand the market for consumer energy programs and services. This 360 View Update examines familiarity with energy programs and factors that impact customer participation and identifies partnership opportunities through existing customer relationships. The research also evaluates marketing channels across segments to provide energy program administrators, product designers, and service providers a good foundation to leverage the most current customer insights into marketing programs.

Parks Associates will host Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer on February 20-22, 2017, in Austin, Texas. Visit www.ses2017.com for updates on this conference on the expanding market for energy solutions and home controls and its impact on utilities, service providers, retailers, manufacturers, and consumers.

For more information about Parks Associates’ research, contact [email protected]. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific energy management data, contact Holly Sprague at [email protected], 720.987.6614.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

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