Schneider Electric Publishes White Paper

Schneider Electric, a leader in digital transformation in energy management and automation, has released a white paper containing the third edition of a consumer survey.

Titled Evolving Home Energy Consumption: Intentions, Actions and Hurdles to Greater Home Energy Efficiency, this report reveals household attitudes toward energy efficiency, sustainability and smart home technologies across the globe. The research surveyed 13,000 people from 11 countries.

The Gap Between Awareness and Action
Home energy consumption is the largest source of household emissions and has shown a steady increase in recent years as energy-intensive appliances and devices have become more widespread. This trend, combined with rapidly rising energy costs and the striking impacts of climate change, is raising awareness about home energy consumption.

In this context, the report examines behaviors, barriers and readiness levels regarding the adoption of energy-saving solutions. The year's findings, in particular, highlight a significant gap between awareness and action. While 82% of participants rated energy efficiency as "somewhat important" or "very important," and 84% view energy efficiency as the most desired home improvement, 70% stated that reducing their carbon footprint is "important" to them.

However, according to the report, the number of people taking effective steps to reduce energy consumption is quite limited. Despite being one of the methods with the greatest impact, only 44% of participants regularly adjust room temperature. Meanwhile, 58% of homeowners see turning off lights as the primary way to save energy. However, lighting accounts for only 5% of electricity bills. The second most common method, unplugging unused chargers (48%), delivers very low annual savings and has a very limited impact on overall energy consumption.

Home Energy Technologies
The report shows that homeowners place significant importance on lighting in terms of energy efficiency. While 52% of participants believe smart lighting increases energy savings, only 24% use smart lighting systems and 21% have smart thermostats. The proportion of those who acknowledge the role of smart thermostats in energy savings is 46%, falling short of half of all participants. However, research shows that smart thermostats can reduce annual energy bills by up to 30%.

The survey examined attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) for the first time. Despite projections that AI and automation could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10%, 44% of participants said they would not trust AI for household tasks. 35% said they do not fully understand artificial intelligence, while 41% expressed a deliberate desire to avoid AI. Additionally, although connected home technologies are known to reduce energy consumption by up to 22%, 52% of participants believe smart home technologies are too expensive.

The survey points to some knowledge gaps regarding conventional home technologies. 30% of participants struggle to fully understand the function of the electrical panel, while 16% have difficulty remembering where their electrical panel is located. Yet the electrical panel is a central part of a home's energy system and is of great importance for ensuring the safety of appliances. 

Michael Lotfy Gierges, Vice President Home & Distribution at Schneider Electric, said, "Consumers want to reduce their energy bills, increase energy reliability and improve energy efficiency in their homes. However, there is a gap between intention and action. While technology to increase home energy efficiency exists today, it is very important to improve awareness about how to use these technologies most effectively." He also noted that greater electrification and digitalization are needed to better measure, control and shift more home energy use toward renewable sources.