Diffusion of feedback: Perceptions and adoption of devices in the residential market

Abstract

Providing households with energy feedback is widely promoted as a conservation strategy and its effectiveness has been established in field studies. However, such studies actively recruit participants and little is known about naturalistic consumers. Despite hundreds of products emerging, few have taken hold in the market. Diffusion of innovation is a theory of technology adoption that details both the general process by which innovation spreads as well as the individual process of technology adoption. The current study analyses survey data from 836 individuals through a diffusion framework to assess the current and potential market of energy feedback. Questions related to knowledge and perceptions of feedback reveal important insights about customer acceptance and statistical comparison of adopters and non-adopters identify key characteristics related to adoption. Implications for the design and marketing of feedback technologies are discussed.