The smart consumer

The quote by Arthur C. Clarke, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” is an appropriate description of the upcoming energy market. A world where smart grids and smart appliances operate seamlessly and with maximum efficiency sounds very much like magic. But the key to unlocking the future ‘magic’ world lies within our reach, and the key is by enabling and creating the smart consumer.

“Simultaneous with the desire to use less power is the increasing desire to use more devices that demand power.”
-Alexander Philbrook

The smart consumer is an energy user who has information at their disposal to make informed decisions about current and future energy needs. The smart consumer knows, before turning on the light switch, refrigerator, or assembly line, the 'cost of use' for the power needed to operate their life or business. Based on historical use, projected needs and external factors, the smart consumer knows what their requirements will be going forward. Providing leverage in purchasing a supply of future power to meet current needs and controlling future costs. To a business owner, the cost of energy becomes another data point in their growing business intelligence portfolio.

Creating a smart consumer requires three key components: desire, knowledge and tools. Each of these components represents a separate list of achievable goals, but will be most successful when approached in an integrated fashion.

Desire

Desire to save power is growing among energy users worldwide. Both the product manufacturing and energy industries are harnessing the opportunity of the new 'energy saving consumer' in developing more efficient products and providing the purchaser more information on smart energy choices.

Simultaneous with the desire to use less power is the increasing desire to use more devices that demand power. Thus, desire alone is not sufficient to create a smart consumer.

Knowledge

Once an energy user desires to save power, they quickly realise a missing ingredient is knowledge. Once the smart grid, smart meters and smart appliances are all turned on and functioning, the energy user will be overloaded with data, but will not necessarily have more knowledge. It is important that energy users are able to take all of the information being provided and use it to achieve power saving goals.

Knowledge about power will come from integrating smart data and energy experts. Smart data coming from the smart grid, smart meters, appliances, utilities and other providers will be integrated with projections of weather, energy pricing and the user's own internal data, providing understanding of use that can be used by energy experts. These experts bring knowledge about energy best practices and cover the full range of the market - from how to buy power to how and why to use more efficient devices. Effective energy management is a key component in creating the smart consumer, enabling energy users to focus on their interests and core business, knowing their energy costs are controlled.

Tools

When complexity is added to a system, it is critical end-users have the best available tools to manage that complexity. The volume of data that the smart grid will produce will be enormous compared to traditional energy grids.

Tools that combine best practices and data provided by infrastructure elevate the energy consumer to that of the smart consumer. Sophisticated energy management tools take the results of an energy audit and integrate consumption and pricing data with the smart meter and appliances. The result is a tool that provides insight and analysis of energy consumption - past, present and future - but more significantly, a framework for creating actions that can control costs.

The missing piece to the success of the 'smart' initiative taking over the power industry is the 'smart consumer'. If the industry is able to create this consumer, then the goals of providing more power to more people without significantly increasing the cost to serve can be achieved. Smart consumers can be created, by harnessing the current consumer desire to control costs, go 'green' and providing knowledge and tools that realise their desire. 

Biography

Alexander Philbrook is Managing Director for the European business of E:SO, a division of Ista. E:SO Europe provides innovative consumer utility meter, data services, energy management and reporting for multi-site commercial consumers. E:SO is also looking to extend its successful US ASP utility billing applications into European suppliers and utility companies.