Electricity Providers' Rate Programs

Energy efficiency and technology can help reduce overall consumption, but the electricity provider needs to be involved to optimize consumption and generation. Most providers have rate programs designed to reward homes with excellent efficiency, EV chargers, and energy automation with good rates in exchange for collaboration.

• Duke Energy Corporation 's Power Manager pays smart thermostat owners to allow Duke to adjust their temperatures by four degrees during the hottest and coldest days.
• Con Edison pays electric vehicle (EV) owners for off-peak charging and facilitates a $5,000 discount for energy-efficiency renovations like adding insulation and sealing air leaks.

In this way, even homes that are not ZNE can still find savings by leveraging technology or modifying their behaviors.

Despite the potential for households to benefit from these programs and save on their energy costs, a considerable number of customers remain unfamiliar with the rate programs offered by their service provider.

Among the 43% of households who are using a special rate energy program, 11% are new users, suggesting a gradual uptake of these programs. However, overall familiarity with these programs has shown limited progress. Over the past five years, the percentage of households claiming to be highly familiar with rebate, time-of-use (TOU), demand response (DR), tiered pricing, and EV plans has not exceeded 26% for any specific program. When a household is considering buying a ZNE home, an understanding of how the rate programs can optimize energy cost is important.

Parks Associates data indicates the potential for uptake in energy programs is high. A significant majority of households, 77%, express a willingness to participate in these programs if they can save $50 or more. A ZNE would save $50 very easily, after the large investments are made in this type of home.

This excerpt is from a?Parks Associates?white paper in partnership with? Nice Group , “Building Net Zero Homes with Home Management Systems,” written by Jennifer Kent, Ph.D. , VP, Research, Parks Associates . To access this complimentary white paper, visit:?https://online.flippingbook.com/view/607603400/