This research uses a novel experiment to elicit the willingness to accept of 2,430 nationally representative UK households for smart meter installation. Randomized information treatments allow for assessment of the impact on adoption and willingness to accept of oft-cited market failures, namely imperfect information asymmetries and diffusion externalities Read more
This paper describes an experiment on a nationally representative sample of UK households that aimed to quantify resistance to smart meter adoption and test for the existence of commonly cited market failures that inhibit the adoption of energy-saving technologies. The authors measured if households would adopt a smart meter without financial compensation and, for those households unwilling to do so, the subsidy level that would be necessary to persuade them. Read more
A broader information campaign educating consumers about the society-wide benefits of household-level action could increase uptake of smart meters if paired with a reasonable subsidy scheme, finds new research. Read more
How realistic are the predicted savings to household energy bills from installing a smart meter? And how robust is the evidence behind the figures? Greer Gosnell and Daire McCoy investigate, in the second of two posts on smart meters. Read more
With recent reports criticising the UK Government’s rollout of its smart meter implementation programme, Greer Gosnell and Daire McCoy review the costs and benefits and call for a revamp, particularly of consumer engagement. Read more