Climate change and damaging weather events such as droughts and wildfires are happening more often, causing utility bills to rise with them. Combined with surges in energy prices residents of California, most notably low-income earners, are having trouble making ends meet.
In Res-Intel’s pursuit of energy equity we recently concluded an evaluation of an Energy Display in-home-device (IHD) for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and found a three to eight percent reduction in energy consumption during the summer months for participating customers.
The IHD, a Wi-Fi-enabled device designed to receive and display residential time-of-use (TOU) rates, uses LED lights and “traffic light logic” to convey the timing of hourly rate changes. The IHD also informs customers when the utility is experiencing potential electricity shortages by sending real-time notifications and energy saving habits and tips through the mobile app.
The project showed that the IHD encouraged customers to better manage their energy usage in the summer season by increasing awareness of rate changes and critical events. Going forward, this device might help low-income customers avoid expensive utility bills and retain more of their income for food, medicine, and other essential items.
A national leader in energy justice, Res-Intel is an innovator in applying domain expertise and advanced technology for mass-scale benchmarking of residential buildings. Our solutions combine advanced analytics using artificial intelligence, remote sensing, geospatial modeling, and multivariate statistics to greatly lower the cost and time for planning and executing energy efficiency (EE) programs. We help our customers to improve demand side management programs, reduce the burden of energy bills for underserved households, and protect the environment. Learn more at Res-Intel.com.
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909.542.8401