Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

The Sacramento Bee

Nearly 50% of U.S. broadband households highly interested in thermostat that can automatically adjust to save money

Parks Associates, host of Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, today announced new energy research showing nearly 50% of U.S. broadband households are very interested in a thermostat capable of automatically detecting an unoccupied house and adjusting the temperature to save money. The research firm notes that consumer interest in automated energy management overall is increasing.

The fourth-annual Smart Energy Summit, February 25-27 in San Antonio, features analysts and energy market executives analyzing opportunities emerging from growing adoption of energy management capabilities. The session "Engaging Consumers: Case Studies and Success Stories" features speakers from Salt River Project, Southern California Edison, Opower, and GreenWave Reality on 9:30 a.m., February 26.

"Consumers' energy-saving activities remained the same from 2011 to 2012, but their energy consciousness is still low compared to the peak in 2010," said John Barrett, director, consumer analytics, Parks Associates. "Consumers appreciate the benefits of smart technologies, but they don't want to constantly monitor their home's energy consumption. Minimally invasive energy management is preferred, and the top-rated smart thermostat features reduce consumption through automatic adjustments. At Smart Energy Summit, we will discuss strategies to engage this new mentality, where automated features resonate with consumers."

Parks Associates finds 12% of U.S. broadband households have access to a website showing their daily energy consumption patterns, but nearly 90% use it less than once per week.

The session "Engaging Consumers: Case Studies and Success Stories" will examine energy programs and bundling strategies that have been effective in driving consumer interest. Speakers:

Renée Castillo, Senior Director, Customer Services, Salt River Project
Brad Cherry, HAN Readiness Senior Project Manager, Southern California Edison
Greg Memo, CEO, GreenWave Reality
Roderick Morris, SVP of Marketing and Operations, Opower

From the article, "Parks Associates: Nearly 50% of U.S. broadband households highly interested in thermostat that can automatically adjust to save money."

Previously In The News

Google plans social games debut

Adding social games could liven up Google+, which has far fewer users than Facebook's 750 million-plus and fewer bells and whistles. Google+ requires an invitation. The market for social games...

Mobile Payment: Technologies and Business Models

"With the creation of the ISIS initiative in 4Q10 and the launch of Google Wallet in 3Q11, the mobile payment industry is riding the recent momentum to build scale," said Harry Wang, Director of He...

IP-based Home Monitoring: Energy Management

Insights from Parks Associates' extensive consumer data are applied to describe the business models for utilities, telcos, security service firms, and retailers and the future opportunities in the...

IP-based Health Solutions: Home Care and Beyond

"Infrastructure development and technology advances have piqued the interest of broadband service providers (BSP) in this market," said Harry Wang, Director of Health and Mobile Product Research wi...