Motivations and barriers to integrating ‘prosuming’ services into the future decentralized electricity grid: Findings from Israel

Energy Research & Social Science 21 (2016) 70–83

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Original research article

Motivations and barriers to integrating ‘prosuming’ services into the future decentralized electricity grid: Findings from Israel Lucy Michaels ∗ , Yael Parag School of Sustainability, Interdisciplinary College (IDC), Natan Alterman Street, Herzliya 46150, Israel

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 28 January 2016 Received in revised form 28 June 2016 Accepted 28 June 2016 Keywords: Prosumers Demand management technologies Public acceptance Israel

a b s t r a c t Technological advances allow electricity consumers to become ‘prosumers’, offering services to the grid, such as generation, demand reduction, load shifting and electricity storage. Well-integrated prosumers improve the resilience and efficiency of the energy system and facilitate the integration of renewable energy, improving energy and climate security. These technologies, however, change how energy services are experienced. Understanding public perceptions is necessary prior to widespread introduction. A 2015 survey (n = 509) investigated perceptions of demand reduction, load shifting and energy storage technologies as prosumer activities in Israel. Israelis showed little interest in remote controlled household appliances to facilitate load shifting, preferring to respond personally via smart controls to information communicated by the grid. There was similar low interest in permitting grid access to electricity stored in personal electric vehicle batteries. Financial incentives increased acceptance in both cases to a third of respondents. The survey identified various barriers to acceptance: health and privacy concerns about smart meters; low trust in the institutions overseeing these technologies; perceived low public support to reduce electricity demand; how incentives were framed and no perceived relationship with meeting national energy priorities such as affordability and energy independence. The young and the observant Jewish community showed greatest acceptance of new technologies. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Governments worldwide face the challenge of providing clean, low carbon, secure and affordable energy. In other words, they seek to deliver both energy security and climate security [23,26]. Shifting to low carbon renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, wave and tidal, increases climate security by reducing emissions and contributes to the ‘security of supply’ by diversifying energy resources. When electricity is provided by many intermittent sources, however, the challenge lies in managing and matching supply and demand. In the traditional centralized electricity system, which is dominated by large fossil-fuelled power plants, the supply-side can relatively easily meet demand-side requirements. Managing a diffused intermittent supply on a national scale, however, requires that the demand-side corresponds and reacts to additional supplyside constraints in particular through load shifting and energy storage [27].

∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Michaels). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.06.023 2214-6296/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent advances in micro-generation, smart metering, energy management systems and the growing number of electric vehicles (EV) with a vehicle-2-grid (V2G) connection, offer new and promising ways for engaging electricity consumers in balancing supply and demand [28]. Essentially, these technologies facilitate transforming consumers into prosumers: consumers that, when needed, can provide ‘prosuming’ services to the grid, including micro-generation, demand reduction, load shifting and energy storage. Well-integrated prosumers can improve the resilience and efficiency of the energy system, hence improve energy security. They can also facilitate the integration of renewable energy and hence contribute to climate security [28]. The notion of prosumers and prosuming services offer a new, promising, yet underexplored phenomenon in the energy system. It is a phenomenon that blurs the dichotomy between supply and demand. Sovacool [37] demonstrates how dominant technoeconomic approaches, commonly applied in the field of energy research, overlook important social and psychological factors that influence both consumer choice and level of engagement in the energy system. We similarly argue here that in order to engage prosumers in the energy system, the prosumer phenomena should be studied within the social and cultural context in which it evolves

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and with reference to the other actors and institutions operating in the energy field. Accordingly, we suggest that to successfully engage prosumers requires more than offering them attractive economic incentives. It requires understanding prosumer motivations, recognizing non-economic barriers for engagement such as norms, comfort and practices, as well as identifying opportunities and platforms for engagement. The research examines prosumers in the residential sector. This is because although residential electricity users appear small and scattered, globally, this sector consumes about 18% of final energy consumption and 26% of final energy consumption within the EU27 countries [10,44]. Residential prosumers thus represent a huge potential for matching supply and demand efficiently and economically. We focus on the motivations and barriers to integrating prosuming services into the Israeli residential sector. We present the results of a March 2015 survey (n = 509) that explores how the Israeli public perceives a range of demand-side management (DSM) technologies and programmes that facilitate ‘prosumer’ engagement. The expansion of prosuming services would be particularly valuable for Israel since household demand accounts for 30% of final energy consumption (IEC Statistical report 2010) and because Israel is an ‘electricity island’ with no connections to the grids of neighbouring countries to stabilise supply during demand spikes or other emergencies. Israel is a small country with a particular electricity market and unique characteristics. This study nevertheless offers a revealing case study for researchers, policy makers and electricity network operators worldwide. This is for several reasons: first, Israel is considered a technologically-positive society, with a high level of technology uptake [5,30]. Lessons about barriers and motivations for engagement in Israel thus offer insight for other technologically positive societies, especially OECD member countries. Second, in Israel, uniquely, automated electrical appliances have already been widely adopted by the observant Jewish community to avoid contradicting the religious prohibition against using electricity on the Sabbath. Unlike other countries where home automation technologies are more common in wealthier segments of society, in Israel ‘Sabbath’ automation technologies are widespread across all income groups. Findings from Israel thus offer insight into willingness to adopt new technologies given widespread prior experience with somewhat similar technologies. And last, this research contributes to wider scholarship on the prosumer phenomena and public acceptability of associated technologies. Prosuming technologies are relatively new, innovative and unfamiliar to regulators and consumers alike. Although research on energy use and behaviour has burgeoned over the past decade, many of the technologies discussed here are newly developed thus existing research is mainly micro-level and qualitative [39]. See for example, Higginson [47] and Hargreaves and Nye [13]. This study is one of the first quantitative studies exploring perceptions of ‘prosumer’ technologies, especially focusing on the demand-side as a provider of a set of services to the grid and on the acceptability of varying levels of external control over energy usage. The survey questions partly draw on a 2012 survey conducted by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) thus allowing evidence of the cross-cultural applicability of the UKERC findings [8,39]. The opening section of the paper presents a likely scenario for the decentralization of the energy system and the evolution of consumers to prosumers. It defines the concept of ‘prosuming services’ and explains why DSM services should also be included in this definition. The second section discusses prosumer engagement via DSM platforms, followed by a third section that explores the applicability for the Israeli context. A forth section identifies potential motivations and barriers for engagement based on literature. The fifth section presents the research method and the sixth section presents

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and discusses the findings. We conclude the paper with some policy implications for prosumer engagement and suggestions for further research.

1.1. The rise of prosumers in decentralized energy system From the demand-side perspective, the primary means to address energy security and climate security challenges is to reduce overall electricity demand [51]. Indeed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) recognizes the global energy efficiency market as the world’s ‘first fuel’: “an invisible powerhouse working behind the scenes to improve our energy security, lower our energy bills and move us closer to reaching our climate goals” [16]. Although demand reduction is essential, it cannot ensure a secure electricity system that includes a large share of renewable energy sources [27]. Such a system also requires the ability to shift demand to match available supply as well as energy storage capacity. Energy systems are developing rapidly to accommodate these requirements. A range of new household DSM technologies and programmes are being tested and introduced worldwide to facilitate demand response (DR) for ‘load shifting’ [36]. Most existing DR programmes offer consumers economic incentives to shift their energy consumption according to supply constraints. There have also been significant advances in small and medium scale storage capacity [42] as well as rapid developments and falling costs for small and medium-scale generation technologies [16]. Advances in home and building electricity management technologies are likely to change the nature of DSM further. All these developments, potentially transform consumers to prosumers. Traditionally, the term ‘prosumer’ was used in energy policy literature to refer to the process by which ‘consumers’ (households or communities) actively sell electricity they generated to the grid. The term has, however, been expanded to include other services that the demand-side can offer to the grid, such as demand reduction, load shifting, storage and ancillary services facilitated by the technologies described above and others [27]. Expanding the prosumer definition to include the provisioning of such services is appropriate because although consumers are not ‘producing’ something per se, they act as valuable distributed resources of the electricity system and, at times, perform as ‘virtual power plants’. Well-integrated prosuming services could improve the flexibility and resilience of a future low carbon system [2,9,11]. A challenge, however, is how to effectively engage prosumers in order to maximize the benefits they offer. A distributed electricity system represents a paradigm shift from current supply-biased top-down systems, which are dominated by techno-economic considerations [27]. Harvesting the potential contribution of a distributed, ‘bottom-up’ system depends on the available engagement platforms, such as smart grid and specific incentives. But it also depends on how willing prosumers are to participate more actively in the existing system. A socio-technoeconomic approach offers a set of tools to uncover and address the motivations and barriers to participation [37] (see Section 1.4). It is important to note that although from the supply-side perspective, the different prosuming services vary on many parameters, from an individual prosumer perspective, all these services – from electricity generation to DR or storage – have similar characteristics: they involve similar interactions and transactions with the utility, they take place in the same social setting and they are likely to be influenced by the same attitudes, beliefs and perception towards actors, energy and the environment. This is a further reason to expand the definition of ‘prosumer’ beyond electricity generation to include the provisioning of a wider set of services.

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1.2. Prosumer engagement via demand side management programs Our research explores how the Israeli public perceives three proposed DSM technologies and programmes that facilitate prosuming activity. These are smart devices that offer detailed information for residents on household electricity use; smart appliances that can be operated automatically or remotely by a third party, and EV batteries that can be used for electricity storage and drawn on by the grid as needed. Since these technologies transform how individuals engage with their electricity services, the survey sought to understand the acceptability and even desirability of such changes. It also sought to explore barriers to uptake and the financial or social incentives that could overcome these. It further sought to identify whether these changes aligned with perceived national energy policy priorities and whom Israelis trusted most to operate such systems. The technological innovation central to many of these scenarios is the ‘smart meter’. In addition to measuring energy use and giving detailed consumer feedback, smart meters transmit information across the network facilitating a range of other technologies and systems [39]. The introduction of electricity smart meters has, however, met a mixed response and rollouts have stalled or halted due to concern about data inaccuracies e.g. Texas; possible health impacts e.g. California; and privacy e.g. The Netherlands [46,40,7]. This highlights the value of gauging public perception in order to improve communication prior to the introduction of these technologies. Similarly, although ‘smart’ grids and smart appliances allow grid managers to better match demand with supply, it is important to consider how the public perceives automated appliances and remote control. It is also important to identify incentives that would overcome likely concerns around loss of control of the timing of basic household management, such as food preparation, cleaning and temperature regulation [52]. A scenario where there is widespread adoption of the electric car offers a further opportunity for prosumers: the vehicle-to-grid connection would allow the electricity to be stored in EV batteries that can be later exported to the grid at times of peak electricity demand [2,11]. This would be valuable for a system with a high share of renewables where energy storage is an issue. Again, however, there are likely to be barriers to adoption, such as concern about car batteries being fully charged when needed. Incentives could, however, increase engagement. 1.3. The Israeli electricity sector and potential for prosumer activity In 2015, Israel’s fuel mix was: natural gas (48%); coal (49%) and 3% from renewable sources [20]. Israel has ambitious plans to produce 17% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 although enthusiasm for renewables has declined with significant natural gas finds in Israel’s territorial waters from 2009 onwards [22]. Israel’s 2015 energy consumption was 52.86 TWh and 6562 kWh per capita, comparable to the Netherlands [17]. Electricity demand is growing at a rate of 2.5% a year, and is expected to grow by 45% by 2030 driven by rising standards of living and population growth [20]. Israel lacks significant heavy industry, which means that household use contributes significantly to this growing demand. For example, air conditioner use in summer accounts for 40% of all electricity consumption [43]. Population growth and rising living standards have driven a steady increase in the number of vehicles in Israel with approximately 2.5 million cars on the road. There is also familiarity and interest in EVs inspired by the now defunct US-Israeli company, Better Place.

Israel’s energy consumption profile (both electricity and vehicle use) plus the need to integrate renewable energy sources into the grid and the pro-technology cultural outlook discussed in the introduction, make prosumer services appealing to Israel. In addition, as highlighted above, the observant Jewish community in Israel already uses automated electrical technologies. This allows them to enjoy electricity without contravening the prohibition against directly operating electrical appliances during the Sabbath. For example, the ‘Sabbath timer’ can be programmed to operate lighting and other appliances on the Sabbath and the ‘Sabbath lift’ operates continuously regardless of occupancy. 1.4. Becoming prosumers: demand-side motivations and drivers for participating in the energy system In this study we employ a ‘socio-techno-economic approach’ to define assumptions regarding willingness to accept engagement platforms, such as smart meters; to reduce and shift electricity use via new DSM and prosuming technologies and programmes; and to store electricity in EV batteries. These assumptions and our hypotheses for our survey results are outlined below: 1.4.1. Relationship between willingness to reduce electricity use and perceived cost-savings Policymakers assume that the cost-saving aspect of reducing electricity demand is a primary motivation for consumers to adopt DSM and prosumer technologies. Spence et al. [39] however, illustrate that in the UK those concerned about the affordability of electricity are significantly less likely to accept DSM technologies. They argue that the potential financial benefits of DSM technologies may not be apparent or believed by consumers. Here we also expect to find a negative relationship between willingness to reduce electricity demand and concern about the cost of electricity. 1.4.2. Relationship between willingness to reduce electricity use and perceived national energy policy priorities The way DSM technologies and programmes are framed by policy-makers and the media can influence willingness to engage in DSM, especially if such frames align with perceived national priorities (Nisbet 2009). In Europe and North America, DSM is often framed as a means to reduce GHG emissions and address climate change [6]. Spence et al. [38] identified that this framing was influencing Britons: those who identified climate change as the UK’s key energy policy priority were also significantly more likely to engage in DSM behaviours. In Israel, DSM has primarily been framed as a means to improve national energy security. During 2011 and 2012, Israel experienced an ‘electricity drought’, when the threat of power shortage increased due to rising demand and an unreliable gas supply. This period threatened to crash the grid causing electricity blackouts and brownouts. During hours of peak demand, public broadcasts requested that citizens avoid using energy intensive appliances [14,24]. A 2012 survey representative of Israel’s Jewish population found widespread understanding of the connection between personal electricity use and national energy security [18]. In the survey, 87% of respondents said they had experienced the public information campaigns related to the electricity drought and 79% claimed to have reduced or shifted the time-of-use of ‘power hungry’ electronic devices, as requested. 78% of respondents agreed that they felt part of a national effort to regulate domestic electricity consumption and reduce power shortages. Our survey explores the extent to which willingness to adopt DSM in Israel is related to perceived national energy policy priorities. Given this recent experience, it expects to find that the Israel

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public connects DSM with energy security and energy independence. 1.4.3. Social norms Social norms contribute to shaping energy use behaviour [48,4,33]. In our research we focus on ‘descriptive’ social norms i.e. the perception of how fellow citizens actually behave. Our survey asks whether Israelis believe that their peers are willing to reduce and shift electricity demand [1]. Perceived social norms are relevant in Israel given the Israeli conceptual frame of a ‘freier’ (Yiddish: sucker or chump). A ‘freier’ is someone who can be easily exploited by others; to avoid being a freier is a fundamental principle in Israeli popular culture [31]. If Israelis perceive their peers to be unwilling to reduce their electricity use, this is likely to affect their own willingness in order to avoid being seen as a ‘freier’. We thus expect that perceived public willingness to engage with DSM would strongly influence personal willingness. We also hypothesise that Israelis may express greater willingness to adopt prosumer technologies than other countries given the positive experience of adopting novel water and passive solarheating technologies, the pro-technology cultural outlook and the existing experience of observant Jewish communities. 1.4.4. Personal vs. remote control Research on the acceptability of ‘smart appliances’ identifies ‘control’ as a centrally important theme i.e. consumers tend to perceive ‘smart appliances’ as affecting their control over personal electricity use [50,54,49,53]. Hargreaves et al. [52] also illustrate that acceptance varies by device and operation specified. For example, a delayed start to a dishwasher based on the needs of the grid is considered more acceptable than interfering with the operation of fridge-freezers, due to concerns about comfort and health. Here we focus on the acceptance of technologies that allow Israelis to offer services to the electricity grid that also change the way in which they access their energy services. We focus on preferences for differing levels of control: whether acceptance is greater when appliances are remotely controlled by the grid (with override options) or when individuals can personally respond to grid requirements via household smart electricity controls. 1.4.5. Trust in institutions to oversee electricity DSM Trust has been identified as an important determinant of risk perception and behaviour, but is an under researched field to date [29,34,39]. Here we explore whether trust in a range of institutions that currently oversee DSM or would do in the future (e.g. local and national government or commercial firms) would influence willingness to accept new technologies. 1.4.6. Concern about ‘smart meters’ The introduction of smart meter technologies worldwide has had varying degrees of success (See Section 1.2). Our research assumes that Israelis are concerned about smart meters based on existing concerns about radiation from cellular phone antennas [32]. Research shows that this concern stems from low trust in government and enforcement agencies to protect public health given the ‘invisible’ threat posed by radiation [25]. Here we examine whether specific concerns about smart meter technology (radiation levels, privacy and data being sold commercially) are a barrier to the acceptance of DSM technologies. 2. Research method An online survey was conducted from 12th–30th March 2015, in Hebrew, by the Israeli online survey company, iPanel. The company operates the largest survey panel in Israel with over a hundred

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thousand members. It is widely used by research institutes and market research companies. Members are sent the survey by email and receive gift vouchers on completion. The survey included seven questions, each containing a number of separate items related to the topics discussed in Section 1.4. This included: Ranking the following four national energy policy priorities: climate change, energy security, energy independence and affordability. See Table 2 for full wording. Priorities were ranked from top priority (1) to lowest priority (4). This question was adapted from the 2012 UKERC survey with the addition of energy independence which was considered relevant for the Israeli context (See [8] Q8); Five items related to willingness to reduce electricity demand: personal willingness to reduce electricity use; perceived public willingness to reduce; willingness to reduce with added financial incentives; and stated barriers to adoption: a) concern about the cost of investing in new energy efficient appliances; and b) ‘other’ reasons besides costs. Responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale. These items were adapted from the UKERC survey. The question on the cost of energy efficient appliances as a barrier to adoption was inspired by Spence et al. [39] as an under-researched topic; Two questions related to perceptions of smart meters: a) six items related to interest in detailed information about electricity use detailing different ways of recording information about energy use. Responses were given on a five-point Likert scale. The question was adapted from Q40a in the UKERC survey [8] with exact item wording given in the results section below; b) three items related to Concerns about smart meters related to level of concern about data being sold commercially; privacy and radiation and reported on a five point Likert scale. These concerns were considered relevant for the Israeli context (see Section 1.3.6); Four items related to control preferences for four appliances (washing machine, dishwasher, fridge-freezer and air-conditioner). The full question wording is given in Section 3.1.5. The four response options were: preference for the current situation; personal smart control, remote control by the network with pre-agreed conditions or remote control without conditions. A second set of four items related to preference for remote control over the same appliances given an economic incentive with responses on a five point Likert scale. Two similar questions in the UKERC survey focused on the acceptability of remote controlled washing machines and fridge-freezers (Q46c and d) [8]. Air conditioners and dishwashers were considered relevant appliances to explore in the Israeli context. Water heating, addressed in the UKERC survey, is less relevant given the prevalence of passive solar water heating in Israel. Five items related to trust in a range of institutions to run DSM programmes: the Israel Electric Corporation; government; private companies; Non-profit organizations; or the local authority. The level of trust was expressed on a five point Likert scale. One item related to perceptions of who benefits the most from reducing electricity demand: the public and the environment; the Israel Electric Corporation; or consumers. Six items related to the EV ownership. The first related to interest in owning an electric car and five items related to willingness to allowing the grid to draw on electricity stored in car batteries for load shifting given different conditions. Responses were given on a five point Likert scale. The full wording is given in Section 3.1.7. To prevent bias, the order of the items within each question was randomised, and response options were counterbalanced, changing from questionnaire to questionnaire. The descriptive results are presented in Section 3.1 followed by the results of the inferential analysis in Section 3.2. OLS linear regression analysis explored:

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Table 1 Socio-demographic data of survey respondents. Socio-Demographic

% in sample and in population

Male Female

52.1 47.9

Household Income Below average Average Above Average (Missing)

31.0 24.4 33.4 11.2

Religiosity (Jewish) Secular or traditional Observant (religious or ultra-orthodox)

81.3 18.7

Education High school or less Higher education (university or other)

47.0 53.0

Age 21–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65+

6.7 28.7 17.7 17.5 15.7 13.8

a.) Predictors for willingness to reduce electricity demand; b.) Predictors for the acceptability of remote controlled appliances; c.) Predictors for the acceptability of the grid accessing electricity stored in an EV battery. The independent and dependent variables are explained in Section 3.2. 2.1. Survey sample The survey sample (n = 509) is representative of the noninstitutionalised Jewish population over the age of 21 within Israel based on stratified sampling by iPanel based on 2015 Israel National Bureau of Statistics data. The sample size gives a margin of error of ±4.29% (95% confidence intervals) and was limited by time and cost considerations. The non-Jewish (Muslim, Christian, Druze and others) population, which comprise 20% of the overall Israeli population, is poorly represented by iPanel and was excluded (see Section 4.2). Table 1 provides a breakdown of socio-demographic data of sample which is thus broadly accurate for the surveyed population. 3. Research findings 3.1. Descriptive statistics 3.1.1. National energy policy priorities Respondents ranked four national energy policy priorities for Israel (see Table 2). ‘Energy independence’ was ranked most highly (45.4% ranked it as their top priority), followed by ‘affordability’ (33%) and ‘energy security’ (12%). Climate change was the lowest

priority (9.6%) and 39.3% of respondents ranked climate change as the least important priority (figures not shown). For the second priority, energy security is ranked most highly, although support is fairly evenly spread between options. 3.1.2. Demand reduction services: economic considerations and social norms Six questions explored willingness to reduce demand given financial incentives, financial costs and social norms. Responses were given on a five point Likert scale. In Table 3, the results have been combined to demonstrate agreement (4 + 5 on the Likert scale), disagreement (1 + 2 on the Likert scale) and a neutral response (3 on the Likert scale). Nearly 50% of Israelis were willing to reduce their electricity use, while 20% were unwilling to do so and 63.1% claimed to be already reducing their electricity use. Almost a quarter (24.3%) agreed that the cost of energy saving appliances was a barrier to reducing personal energy use although 42.4% disagreed with this statement. An equal number (37.9%) agreed and disagreed that they would only reduce electricity demand with a financial incentive. One item related directly to perceptions of social norms: 18.1% agreed with the statement, “the Israeli public is prepared to reduce their electricity use” although almost half (47.5%) disagreed. 3.1.3. Smart meters: interest in a range of information about energy use A set of items explored interest in accessing a range of different data describing personal household electricity consumption. Respondents were given the following information: “One of the new technologies that allow flexible power consumption is the smart electricity meter. A smart meter is an electronic device that measures household energy consumption continuously and precisely. Smart meters allow you and network administrators to receive accurate ‘realtime’ information about your household electricity use. To what extent do you think you could better manage your electricity consumption if you had a smart meter providing you with accurate information in the following areas with answers on a scale ranging from 1 = ‘greatly’ to 5 = “not at all”. See Fig. 1. Respondents expressed greatest interest in information about financial savings available for turning off appliances (76.2%) although there was also strong interest in other proposed information. They were least interested in comparisons to other similar householders (42.8%) despite research that suggests that this is an effective and inexpensive way to reduce electricity use [4,33]. The six items created a reliable scale (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86) therefore the responses were summed to create a score variable (see Section 3.2 below). 3.1.4. Smart meters: concerns Respondents were asked about three concerns that could pose barriers for adopting smart meters: a Radiation emitted (with levels similar to cell phone radiation); b Information about my electricity use could be sold commercially; c Monitoring real-time electricity would invade my privacy;

Table 2 National energy policy priorities. Full question

1st ranking priority (%)

2nd ranking priority (%)

Energy Independence: Ensure that Israel will be ‘energy independent’, which means that it can provide electricity on its own without the need to import fuel from other countries Affordability: Ensure that household electricity bills are not too expensive Energy security: Increase the electricity generation capacity to ensure power supply at any time, anywhere Climate change: Address the threat of climate change by switching to low- carbon sources of electricity production e.g. solar energy

45.4

25.9

33 12

23.2 29.5

9.6

21.6

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Table 3 Willingness to reduce demand: economic considerations and social norms. Question

Disagree (%)

Neither agree not disagree (%)

Agree (%)

I am willing to reduce my electricity use The Israeli public is prepared to reduce their electricity use I am already making efforts to reduce my electricity use I am willing to reduce my electricity demand only if I receive a financial incentive to do so I am not reducing my electricity use because I cannot afford to invest in energy saving appliances I am not reducing my electricity use for ‘other’ reasons

20 45.7 15.5 37.9 42.4 63.5

31.6 36.1 21.4 24.2 33.2 20.6

48.4 18.1 63.1 37.9 24.3 15.9

Fig. 1. Interest in detailed information about electricity usage.

d Other (specify)

Over half expressed concern about personal information being sold commercially (52.5%) and radiation emissions from smart meters (57.7%). Israelis were less concerned about privacy (28.9%). A quarter (26.1%) expressed concern about all three issues, although a quarter (25.1%) expressed no concern (figures not shown). See Fig. 2. Almost 10% indicated voluntarily concern with the possible cost of a smart meter. The three items created a reliable scale (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.73) therefore responses were summed to create a score variable (see Section 3.2).

3.1.5. Load shifting services: remote versus personal smart control of appliances The survey gave four scenarios for future appliance use by which electricity prosumers could alter their consumption ‘time of use’ to match available supply. The survey assessed interest in: a) Personally controlling appliances via personal smart controls to run at non-peak times based on information communicated in advance; b) Allowing the grid manager to remote control appliances to run at non-peak times with terms defined in advance and an override option;

Fig. 2. Concern about smart meters by issue.

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Fig. 3. Control preference for a range of different appliances.

c) Allowing the grid manager to remote control appliances simply as required by the grid; d) Maintaining current situation. Fewer than 2% selected option (c). In Fig. 3 these results were merged with option (b) since both reflect willingness to allow the grid manager to have varying degrees of remote control over the timing of appliance use. The question discussed four appliances in turn: dishwashers and washing machines that ran at some time during a given window based on grid demand, and fridge-freezers and air conditioners that switched off for short periods while maintaining the temperature within a specified range. Fig. 3 shows that of the two technological modes of control offered, Israelis were most willing to accept personal smart controls, ranging from washing machine use (58.7%) to fridge-freezer use (29.3%). Willingness to accept remote control was low: ranging from dishwasher use (12.7%) to washing machine use (7.3%). Overall, 84.5% of Israelis were willing to accept one of the technological modes of control for at least one appliance, although 15.5% preferred the existing situation for all four appliances. The preference was overwhelmingly for personal smart controls with 15.1% willing to set all four appliances by smart control. Nevertheless, 25% of Israelis were willing to have at least one appliance remotely controlled although only 1% was willing to have all four appliances this way. Figures not shown. An internal reliability test for preferred mode of control across all appliances found that the Cronbach’s alphas were too low to cre-

ate a reliable scale (between 0.63 and 0.67). This finding illustrates that respondents have different relationships with each appliance rather than having a fixed preference for a mode of control. The next question tested whether a financial incentive in the form of lower electricity rate would increase willingness to allow the grid remote control of the four appliances. Even with a financial incentive, acceptance rates for remote control are low: 55% were still unwilling to accept any remote controlled appliances with 70% unwilling to accept either a remote controlled fridgefreezer or air-conditioning system. Only 7.9% were willing to accept all four appliances remote controlled with a financial incentive. Fig. 4 shows that given an incentive, there is greater acceptance for washing appliances than for temperature-controlled appliances. There was high internal reliability between these variables (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86). This suggests that a financial incentive appealed across the appliances. The responses were summed to create a score variable (see Section 3.2). 3.1.6. Trust in institutions to manage electricity DSM programmes Respondents were asked to express the degree of trust in five institutions to oversee DSM programmes: the Israel Electricity Company (IEC) a dedicated government agency, a private commercial company, a not-for-profit organization and local authority. Responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘very low trust’ (1) to ‘very high trust’ (5). Fig. 5 shows extremely low trust expressed for all institutions. Greatest trust was expressed for not-for profit organizations although this only represented a third of respondents (35.1%).

Fig. 4. Comparing willingness to accept remote control without and with a financial incentive.

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Fig. 5. Trust in institutions to oversee electricity demand reduction.

The five trust items created a reliable scale (Cronbach’s alpha 0.86) therefore responses were averaged to create a score variable (see Section 3.2). The next question asked who respondents believed benefited the most from reducing electricity demand from three options: the ‘Israel Electric Corporation’, the ‘public and the environment’ or ‘private consumers’. See Fig. 6. A majority believed that the primary beneficiary is the Israel Electric Company (46.2%). Only 12.6% believed that as private consumers, they themselves are the primary beneficiaries.

3.2.1. Predictors for willingness to reduce electricity demand We constructed an OLS multiple linear regression model to explore the predictors for personal willingness to reduce electricity demand. The dependent variable was a continuous variable based on the responses to the first item listed in Table 3: I am willing to reduce my electricity consumption. The independent variables were based on predictors theorised to influence willingness to reduce demand (see Section 1.4):

collinearity. We therefore omitted the ‘energy security priority’ variable from the analysis; Social norms: An independent continuous variable was constructed based on the responses to the second item listed in Table 3; Financial incentives: An independent continuous variable was constructed based on the responses to the fourth item listed in Table 3; Already reducing electricity: An independent continuous variable was constructed based on the responses to the second item listed in Table 3; Barriers to reducing electricity use: Two independent continuous variables were constructed based on responses to the last two items listed in Table 3 (a) the cost of energy appliances and (b) ‘other reasons’; Concern about smart meters: a continuous variable was constructed based on the sum of responses to items expressing concern about smart meters; Trust in institutions: a continuous variable was constructed based on the sum of responses to five items expressing level of trust in a range of institutions to manage electricity demand management; Socio-demographic variables: Five socio-economic variables were constructed including i) education level as a dummy variable (attended or finished high school/educated beyond high school); ii) gender as a dummy variable; iii) age as a continuous variable; iv) Observant Jews—a dummy variable was based on Jews who self-identified as observant either as ‘religious’ or ‘ultra-orthodox’ Jews and therefore habitual users of automated technologies for religious reasons; v) Income as continuous variable (below the average national income/average income/above the average national income). There were 57 missing cases related to the income question, which affects the margin of error of the results to this question (±4.56%). It was nevertheless included because Spence et al. [39] identified it as a significant predictor of willingness to reduce electricity demand in the UK.

a) National energy priorities: Four dummy categorical variables were constructed based on the respondent’s top ranked energy policy: energy independence, energy security, climate change and affordability. See Table 2. Since these four variables summed together make 100%, one variable was omitted from the analysis to avoid the ‘dummy variable trap’ and the appearance of multi-

Table 4 shows that five significant predictors explain 33.1% of variance. Positive predictors are a perception of wider public willingness to engage (social norms), existing personal efforts to reduce electricity use and education level (those educated beyond high school were more likely to be reducing demand). The negative predictors are gender (women are more likely to be reducing electricity

3.1.7. Electricity storage services: use of EVs batteries This set of items first examined general interest in buying an electric car. It found that 44.8% were interested and 26.9% were uninterested in doing so. Figures not shown. A further set of items explored willingness to allow grid managers to access the electricity stored in personal EV batteries to balance the grid e.g. over night. Fig. 7 illustrates the responses under different scenarios. In the best-case scenario, just over a third expressed willingness based on pre-agreed conditions and a direct payment into their bank account (36.4%). This form of economic incentive is more appealing than a lower electricity rate (28.3%). The results also suggest that the car battery being full when needed is a concern. 3.2. Multivariate analysis

b)

c)

d)

e)

f)

g)

h)

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Fig. 6. Who gains from electricity demand reduction.

demand) and citing ‘other reasons’ besides the cost of energy efficient appliances, as a barrier to reducing electricity consumption. Perceptions of national energy policy priorities, levels of trust in institutions and concern about smart meters did not predict willingness to reduce electricity demand. Neither did the financial cost of reducing demand, the promise of financial incentives or socioeconomic status. 3.2.2. Predictors for acceptance of remote controlled appliances by a third party We constructed an OLS multiple linear regression model to explore the predictors for the acceptance of remote controlled appliances by a third party. The dependent variable was a continuous variable based on the score of responses related to willingness to accept four remote controlled appliances with a financial incentive (See Section 3.1.5). The independent variables were constructed from responses to a number of questions theorised to predict willingness to engage in demand response behaviour. This includes concern about smart

meters, trust in institutions and the variable related to concern about the cost of energy-saving appliances. This assesses whether given a financial incentive, those expressly concerned about the cost of energy saving appliances would show greater acceptance of third party control over appliance use. The construction of these variables is discussed in Section 3.2.1. In addition, we included:

a) Interest in information about electricity usage: a continuous variable was constructed based on the sum of responses to six items related to interest in different information about personal electricity usage. This was included to observe whether those willing to accept remote control by a third party were more or less interested in details about personal electricity use; b) Socio-demographic variables: the same as in Section 3.2.1 although household income was not included because it is not theorised in the literature as a significant predictor and because the missing cases reduced the statistical power of the findings.

Fig. 7. Willingness to allow the grid to access electricity stored in an EV battery.

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Table 4 An OLS Linear regression model showing predictors for willingness to reduce electricity demand. Coefficientsa Model

(Constant) Priority Climate Priority Energy independence Priority Affordable Israeli Public is willing to reduce Already reducing Financial incentive Cost of energy saving appliances Other reasons Concern score Trust score Gender Age Observance Education level Household income

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

B

Std. Error

Beta

1.890 0.034 0.026 −0.011 0.260 0.417 −0.001 −0.056 −0.132 −0.019 0.001 −0.190 −0.023 0.012 0.189 −0.014

0.376 0.199 0.148 0.154 0.045 0.041 0.036 0.041 0.039 0.014 0.010 0.093 0.031 0.122 0.093 0.056

0.009 0.011 −0.004 0.237 0.415 −0.001 −0.058 −0.140 −0.053 0.006 −0.081 −0.031 0.004 0.080 −0.010

t

Sig.

5.019 0.173 0.174 −0.073 5.743 10.252 −0.035 −1.380 −3.372 −1.295 0.144 −2.051 −0.753 0.101 2.025 −0.256

0.000 0.863 0.862 0.942 0.000** 0.000** 0.972 0.168 0.001** 0.196 0.886 0.041* 0.452 0.920 0.043* 0.798

a Dependent Variable: I am willing to reduce my electricity consumption. R2 (R2 Adj) = 0.353 (0.331). F Change = 15.877 (15,436)**. Notes: a) * = p< 0.05, ** = p < 0.01. b) Variables were coded or recoded so that higher values indicated higher levels of that factor, e.g. higher and positive values indicate greater concern or stronger support. c) For all regressions shown, levels of variance inflation factors (VIF) were acceptable with none higher than 3 and an average of 1 in the full models indicating that multi-collinearity was not a problem.

Table 5 shows that six significant predictors explain 45.8% of variance. Positive predictors include high trust in institutions to manage DSM, not being able to afford energy saving appliances, interest in information about personal electricity use and being an observant Jew. Negative predictors include low concern about smart meters and age (younger Israelis find it more acceptable).

3.2.3. Predictors for the acceptability of the grid accessing electricity stored in EV batteries We constructed an OLS multiple linear regression model to explore the predictors for the acceptability of the grid accessing electricity stored in EV batteries. The dependent variable was a continuous variable based on the score of five questions related to willingness under a range of conditions (see Section 3.1.7). The independent variables included concern about smart meters, trust in institutions, a score based on interest in remote controlled appliances with an financial incentive and socio-

demographic variables. The construction of these variables is discussed in Sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.2. Table 6 shows that five predictors explain 20.9% of the variance. Positive predictors include high trust in institutions to manage DSM, interest in remote controlled appliances by a third party and being an observant Jew. Negative predictors include low concern about smart meters and age (younger Israelis find it more acceptable).

4. Discussion 4.1. Willingness to reduce electricity demand Israelis are relatively unwilling to reduce their personal electricity use. In the 2012 UKERC survey, 81% of Britons expressed willingness to reduce electricity use as compared to 48.3% of Israelis. Only 13% of Britons were unwilling to reduce demand as compared to 20% of Israelis [8].

Table 5 An OLS linear regression model showing predictors for acceptability of remote controlled appliances with a financial incentive. Coefficientsa Model

(Constant) Gender Age Groups Observance Education level Cost of energy saving appliances Trust score Concern score Interest in info electricity use

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

B

Std. Error

Beta

1.906 0.605 −0.216 0.882 −0.531 0.366 0.587 −0.082 0.060

1.153 0.329 0.108 0.420 0.326 0.137 0.033 0.050 0.029

0.062 −0.068 0.071 −0.055 0.091 0.618 −0.057 0.070

a Dependent Variable: Score of willingness to accept four remote controlled appliances with a financial incentive. R2 (R2 Adj) = 0.458 (0.449). F Change = 51.586 (8496)**. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

t

Sig.

1.654 1.840 −2.001 2.102 −1.629 2.674 17.723 −1.628 2.089

0.099 0.066 0.046* 0.036* 0.104 0.008** 0.000** 0.014* 0.037*

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Table 6 An OLS linear regression model showing predictors for the acceptability of EV battery to be accessed by the grid under a range of conditions. Coefficientsa Model

(Constant) Gender Education Level Age Groups Observance Remote control third party plus incentive scores Trust score Concern score

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

B

Std. Error

Beta

8.558 0.016 0.690 −0.359 0.927 0.328 0.165 −0.111

1.212 0.446 0.441 0.145 0.450 0.061 0.058 0.068

0.001 0.062 −0.100 0.083 0.287 0.153 −0.068

t

Sig.

7.061 0.035 1.567 −2.473 2.060 5.406 2.869 −1.640

0.000 0.972 0.118 0.014* 0.040* 0.000** 0.004** 0.012*

a Dependent Variable: EV battery scores. R2 (R2 Adj) = 0.22 (0.209). F Change = 20.229 (7501)**. * p< 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

The multivariate analysis in Table 4 illustrates some of the factors predicting willingness to reduce demand. This includes perceived social norms: Israelis who were willing to reduce their electricity use were also more likely to perceive that the wider Israeli public was willing to reduce electricity use. This relationship is widely supported in the literature; perceptions of how others behave at the micro level (neighbours and peers) and the national level (industry, government and media figures) are widely shown to influence personal behaviour [4,33]. That said, only 18.1% of Israelis felt that “the Israeli public is prepared to reduce their electricity use”. This is concerning because Lorenzoni et al. [19] identify a ‘tragedy of the commons’ effect by which people choose not to change their energy use behaviour when others around them are not making similar changes. Given the importance of social norms in determining behaviour and additional cultural concerns about being perceived as a ‘freier’ by peers, this result helps explain Israeli unwillingness to reduce electricity demand. In the survey, 63.3% of respondents cited ‘other reasons’ besides the high cost of energy saving appliances, for their unwillingness to reduce electricity use. These other reasons were not further explored by the survey. The multivariate analysis identified ‘other reasons’ as a significant predictor for lower willingness to reduce electricity use and offers some explanation for what these ‘other’ reasons might be. As discussed below, however, these reasons are not related to perceived national energy policy priorities, financial constraints, distrust in institutions or concern about smart meters. None of the stated national energy policy priorities (energy independence, energy security, affordability or climate change) predicted willingness to reduce electricity demand. Israelis overwhelmingly ranked ‘energy independence’ as the nation’s top energy policy priority (45.4%). Despite the public awareness reported during the 2011–2012 electricity drought that personal demand reduction could increase both energy security and energy independence, these were nevertheless not significant predictors of willingness to reduce electricity demand (see Section 1.4.2). In the 2012 UKERC survey, Spence et al. [39] identified a significant relationship between ranking affordability as a top national energy policy priority and low willingness to reduce electricity demand. They also identified that respondents from less affluent social grades were associated with lower acceptance of DSM. In our survey, these were not, however, significant predictors of low willingness to reduce electricity demand. Further, unlike Spence et al. [39] our analysis did not find a significant relationship between ranking climate change as the top national energy policy priority and willingness to reduce electricity demand. This is surprising given that the connection

between addressing climate change and reducing personal electricity demand or buying energy efficient appliances has been widely made. This includes in public campaigns by the Israeli Ministry for Environmental Protection [20]. Overall, therefore, these findings suggest that Israelis do not readily make a connection between reducing electricity demand and addressing climate change, energy independence, affordability and energy security. These concerns are not currently central in motivating their personal electricity use and behaviours. Additional research would be valuable to identify additional ‘other reasons’ why Israelis may be unwilling to reduce electricity demand. These may include ideological objections, personal habits and perceptions of comfort [55].

4.2. Acceptance of new DSM technologies Since the actual DSM technologies discussed in the survey are not currently widely available, the public is unfamiliar with how they would work in practice. The survey responses given thus represent ‘affective’ responses to these technologies, based on preexisting views related to health concerns, personal comfort and ceding control over the timing of household chores [35]. Israelis are fairly negative about the idea of household smart appliances that are remote-controlled by a third party, such as the grid manager. Although this appears to be a relatively simple way for householders to reduce personal energy use without having to engage or think too much about it, Israelis are clearly not yet convinced. In the 2012 UKERC survey, Britons were more willing to accept these options and without additional financial incentives: 48% found the idea of a washing machine remotely controlled by a third party acceptable and 30% found the idea of a fridge-freezer switched off by the electricity network for short periods of time acceptable. The multivariate analysis did identify that some segments of the Jewish Israeli population showed greater acceptance for smart appliances and EV batteries remotely controlled by the grid. As hypothesised, this includes observant Jews, most probably based on prior positive experiences of using automated electrical appliances in meeting religious observance. This community is more likely to perceive remote controlled appliances as ‘enabling’ rather than as a loss of personal freedom having integrated similar techno-fixes into their everyday life as a practical solution to overcome conflicts between spiritual and material needs. This finding also suggests that in general prior experience of somewhat similar technologies, which offer an alternative experience over the control and timing of electricity use, is likely to support the acceptance of similar tech-

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nologies in the future. See Woodruff et al. [54] for a more in depth discussion of this topic. In addition, younger Israelis are more willing to accept both smart appliances remotely controlled by a third party and the EV battery storage options. This, again, may relate to familiarity with technology since this segment of the population more commonly use technology in their day-to-day life for time management such as electronic calendars, mobile phone apps. Economic considerations were also found to be relevant. This was evident from the responses to the survey questions (see Figs. 4 and 7), which illustrate how financial incentives significantly increase acceptance in both cases. It is noteworthy that framing the economic incentive for drawing electricity from EV battery as a payment into personal bank account increases acceptability by eight percent over a discount on electricity rate (see Fig. 7). The influence of financial incentives is also evident from the multivariate analysis. Those who stated that the high cost of energy savings appliances was a barrier to reducing electricity use, expressed greater acceptance of demand response technologies controlled by a third party. This suggests that for those unable to meet the costs of energy saving appliances, the promise of a financial support overrides other concerns with third party control. The multivariate analysis also indicated that high trust in the institutions most likely to introduce and manage these technologies and low concern about smart metering technologies are significant predictors for acceptance of both sets of technologies. The descriptive analysis, however, indicates that in general there is low trust in such institutions and high concern expressed about smart meters. The overall low trust in institutions to oversee DSM probably reflects a more general and widely reported Israeli lack of confidence in government and other institutions in Israel [15]. Low trust might also be explained by the fact that the general public perceives the Israel Electric Company, and not themselves as private consumers, as the key beneficiary of DSM, as indicated in Fig. 6. This suggests that for DSM to gain wider acceptability in Israel, either the public image of these institutions needs to significantly improve or alternative agents should be identified that engender greater trust. Israelis are concerned about smart meters, with the greatest concern relating to radiation emissions, despite the survey clarifying that this would be equivalent to mobile phone radiation. This finding is not unexpected given existing concern in Israel about radiation emissions from cellular phone antennae highlighted in Section 1.4. Israelis also expressed concern about personal information gathered from the smart meter being sold commercially and about privacy. This may similarly reflect a wider mistrust in government and the motivations for introducing smart meters in the first place, as well as the perception that private consumers are not beneficiaries of DSM. The multivariate analysis indicates that those accepting of third party control over household appliance use are similarly accepting of the grid drawing on electricity stored in personal EV batteries. This result and the existence of similar predictors in both regressions possibly suggests that there is a specific segment of the population consistently willing to cede control across a range of technologies. In addition, although one would assume that those willing to accept the grid to make decisions regarding their household appliance use would be happy to receive the financial benefit without having to engage too much with their electricity use, these results suggest otherwise. A high level of interest in information about personal electricity use was a predictor of willingness to allow third party control over appliance use. Israelis express greater interest in using personal smart controls to shift the time of appliance use based on information provide by the grid, rather than remote control by a third party. This technological approach would see households shifting their time of use but

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without external interference in daily activity from outside parties who could be perceived as having different priorities or motives to the householder [3]. They are nevertheless still responding to external influence in the form of supply constraints and load shedding. At the same time, it requires greater personal involvement and engagement with personal electricity use, compared to the remote control option. There is also clear variation across different energy-use domains. Proposals to interfere with heating and cooling appliances (AC and fridges) are less acceptable than washing and cleaning appliances (washing machine and dishwasher). Despite assurances that temperatures would remain within a specified range, Israelis preferred to keep the current option for fridge-freezer and air-conditioner use. These differences are likely to be related to perceived loss of thermal comfort and health concerns. Additional research would be valuable to explore what kinds of reassurances would be effective to convince Israelis especially as to the benefits of remote control over heating and cooling appliances. These could include manual overrides or fail-safe mechanisms to prevent food thawing in the freezer [21]. It would also be valuable to collaborate with, and learn from the experiences of religious Jews using Sabbath technologies. In general, better communication about the benefits is necessary given the perceived loss of control over basic household tasks and the disruption to daily habits. Finally, as discussed in the method section, these findings only represent the perceptions of Jewish Israeli society. They strongly reflect the social, cultural and ideological priorities of this segment of population. It is likely that the non-Jewish public would respond quite differently so an accurate overall picture of the acceptance of DSM technologies in Israeli society may be different to the findings reported here.

5. Conclusion Integrating residential prosumers in the energy system offers a valuable means to facilitate the match between supply and demand, improve the efficiency of the energy system and ultimately increase climate and energy security. As the energy system becomes more distributed and prosuming become more widespread, there is a merit in understanding how to best harvest these benefits and design public policies accordingly. Policy makers and engineers often perceive DSM technologies as benign technologies with personal, social and environmental benefits. Our findings, however, illustrate that apart from specific segments of the population, the public may be sceptical about the motivations for promoting these technologies and even perceive them as a threat to personal comfort, quality of life and health. Although the findings illustrate some peculiarities of the Israeli context, they, nevertheless, identify barriers that are likely to influence the public acceptability of DSM technologies worldwide. These include trust in institutions overseeing DSM programmes; health and data protection concerns; the high upfront cost of investing in energy saving technologies; social norms; and the framing of both energy demand reduction and economic incentives. Financial incentives can help address these concerns, but careful thought about how these technologies are introduced and framed, and by whom, are necessary. The caution expressed by the Israeli public towards DSM technologies may seem unexpected given the country’s generally pro-technology cultural outlook and successful adoption of novel technologies, such as seawater desalination plants, which provide 75% of the domestic water consumption, and passive solar water heating, which are installed in 85% of Israeli households. These technologies, however, were adopted at times of evident resource

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shortages, and when their necessity could be easily communicated to the public. Given the high priority given to ‘energy independence’ in the survey, Israelis may be more willing to reduce their personal electricity use and adopt DSM technologies if they were clearly framed as a personal way to help achieve this national goal. This is likely to be a more effective framing for Israelis than environmental sustainability or financial savings. In addition, given that the Israeli public is susceptible to perceived social norms, it would be valuable to communicate DSM as a ‘collective effort’ for the public good, which was a successful strategy during the 2011–2012 electricity droughts. Applying a socio-techno-economic approach identifies specific findings and insights for the Israeli context. The research nevertheless offers a valuable methodology for scholars working on this topic and highlights key areas for investigation prior to or while introducing DSM technologies and engagement platforms in other countries. The Israeli experience highlights that even in technologically positive societies, the timing and context of introduction could influence the successful uptake of new DSM technologies. It also highlights the merit in framing DSM technologies appropriately for the cultural and social context and the importance of identifying trusted institutions to manage DSM schemes. Lastly, it illustrates the potential benefit to implementation of learning from and collaborating with populations that have previous experience with similar technologies or platforms. Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the help of Alexa Spence, Nick Eyre and Sagit Porat in the survey design and preparation stage. This research was funded by the EU FP7 Marie Curie CIG grant no. 303443, STESS: Socio-technical approach to energy services security. References [1] E. Aronson, T.D. Wilson, R.M. Akert, Social Psychology. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall, NJ, 2010. [2] P. Bronski, J. Creyts, et al., The Economics of Load Defection: How Grid-connected Solar-plus Battery Systems Will Compete with Traditional Electric Service, Why It Matters, and Possible Paths Forward, Rocky Mountain Institute, 2015, April 2015 www.rmi.org/electricity load defection (accessed 13.05.16). [3] C. Butler, K.A. Parkhill, N. Pidgeon, Deliberating Energy Transitions in the UK—Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability, UKERC, London, 2013. [4] R. Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, William Morrow and Company, New York, 2006. [5] Compass, Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2015. http://startup-ecosystem. compass.co/report-download/, 2015 (accessed 13.05.16). [6] A.J. Corner, D. Venables, A. Spence, W. Poortinga, C. Demski, N.F. Pidgeon, Nuclear power, climate change and energy security: exploring British public attitudes, Energy Policy 39 (9) (2011) 4823–4833. [7] C. Cuijpers, B.-J. Koops, et al., Smart metering and privacy in Europe: lessons from the dutch case, in: S. Gutwirth (Ed.), European Data Protection: Coming of Age, 2012, Springer, Dordrecht, 2013, pp. 269–293. [8] C. Demski, A. Spence, N. Pidgeon, Summary Findings of a Survey Conducted in August 2012 – Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability, UKERC, London, 2013. [9] M. Dyson, J. Mandel, et al., The Economics of Demand Flexibility: How Flexiwatts Create Quantifiable Value for Customers and the Grid, Rocky Mountain Institute, 2015, August www.rmi.org/electricity demand flexibility. [10] European Commission, Energy Efficiency Status report: Electricity consumption and efficiency trends in the EU27. European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy and Transport (Table page 19). https://ec. europa.eu/jrc/sites/default/files/energy-efficiency-status-report-2012. pdfhttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/default/files/energy-efficiency-statusreport-2012.pdf 2012. [11] G. Fitzgerald, J. Mandel, J. Morris, H. Touati, The Economics of Battery Energy Storage: How Multi-use, Customer-sited Batteries Deliver the Most Services and Value to Customers and the Grid, Rocky Mountain Institute, 2015, September http://www.rmi.org/electricity battery value.

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