Smart Meters: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Electricity - Smart Grid (R) Evolution: Electric Power Struggles - page 105

about 3,000 of the participating households, about one fifth, will receive in-home energy
management display technology.
These differences in consumer engagement and interpretations of what makes a meter
“smart” have led to customer confusion and disjointed expectations. A recent Carnegie
Mellon study on expectations of smart meters found that many Americans have
unrealistically optimistic perceptions about the potential benefits of smart meters because
they assume that in-home displays and energy management abilities are fundamental
aspects of smart meters, when actually most smart meters being installed in the United
States do not include this service (Krishnamurty et al, 2014). Many smart meter installation
programs are adopting a strategy of focusing on installing meters to replace the analog
meters with an assumed intent that in-home displays can be added on later or purchased
by the customer independently. This strategy may have backfired in some places, because
when consumers do not experience any direct benefits from initial smart meter installation,
resistance and opposition are more likely to emerge. In-home displays appear to be a
basic, standard piece of most smart meter rollouts in Europe, while in the United States
many utilities have replaced analog meters outside the home with smart meters without
necessarily installing an in-home display, or even informing the residents of the system
change. The Carnegie Mellon researchers suggested that utilities expand their smart meter
programs to include in-home displays so that more consumers will experience direct
benefits and real change in how they interact with the electricity system (Krishnamurti et
al., 2012 ). Additional research points out that it is not just a matter of whether or not an
in-home display is present; the type, style, and functionality of the in-home display has
potentialtoinfluencethedegreetowhichhouseholdersusetheinformationprovidedbythe
smart meter and change their energy consumption habits (Weiss et al., 2009 ). Without the
tangible benefit of information provided by in-home displays to inform their energy use,
many customers do not experience or recognize the benefits of smart meters; skepticism
persists and sometimes even grows, especially among those who feel the meters are being
forced upon them.
Another key technological promise of smart meters is their ability to connect to and
automatically control appliances within the home to enable demand management of
electricity use over time. For example, the smart meter could be linked to the hot water
heater, refrigerator, washing machine, and/or the clothes dryer and could remotely control
these appliances to ensure they only run when demand and electricity costs are lowest
(probably in the middle of the night). This potential for smart meters to connect to
appliances is frequently mentioned in media coverage of smart grid; our media analysis
research found that in newspaper articles about smart grid, consumer appliances and smart
meters were the two smart grid technologies most often mentioned together (Langheim