When it comes to numbers, we’re not as rational as we think we are. Traditional economic theory long assumed that humans are logical, unemotional, and make...
When it comes to numbers, we’re not as rational as we think we are. Traditional economic theory long assumed that humans are logical, unemotional, and make decisions that are in our own self-interest. In recent years, however, the growing field of behavioral economics has revealed that this assumption is flawed . Humans are complex beings who often rely on emotion and reflex to make decisions, even if those decisions sometimes defy rationality. At Opower, our design team...
When it comes to numbers, we’re not as rational as we think we are. Traditional economic theory long assumed that humans are logical, unemotional, and make decisions that are in our own...
Everything Opower. Links to tweets, blogs, data sheets and details all at your fingertips.
Ten years ago, most utilities’ energy efficiency portfolios were strictly focused on upgrading hardware. Insulation. Refrigerators. Light bulbs. Efficiency was...
Ten years ago, most utilities’ energy efficiency portfolios were strictly focused on upgrading hardware. Insulation. Refrigerators. Light bulbs. Efficiency was all about getting people to install another widget. Then behavioral programs added a new dimension to utilities’ efficiency portfolios. For our clients alone, behavioral efficiency has unlocked 8 terawatt-hours in savings since 2007. But there’s always room to do more. And for a long time, there’s been a lingering...
Ten years ago, most utilities’ energy efficiency portfolios were strictly focused on upgrading hardware. Insulation. Refrigerators. Light bulbs. Efficiency was all about getting people to...
Weatherization — the practice of implementing energy efficiency measures, particularly around seasonal weather changes — is the heart of almost every...
Weatherization — the practice of implementing energy efficiency measures, particularly around seasonal weather changes — is the heart of almost every utility's low-income portfolio. There's a good reason why. Low-income customers tend to live in older, less efficient homes, and their energy burden is 4.6x greater on average than non-low-income families'. Weatherization is an important way that utilities can engage working families and help them lower their bills. For a lot of...
Weatherization — the practice of implementing energy efficiency measures, particularly around seasonal weather changes — is the heart of almost every utility's low-income portfolio. There's a good...
Utilities worldwide are working hard to meet increasingly ambitious demand-side management goals. But this year, a lot of them are coming up against a hard...
Utilities worldwide are working hard to meet increasingly ambitious demand-side management goals. But this year, a lot of them are coming up against a hard truth: the dollars they spend on energy efficiency programs just don’t go as far as they used to. We’ve heard that anecdotally from our clients, but the proof is in the numbers. E Source found that the cost to acquire 1 kWh of savings rose 35 percent between 2010 and 2014. Efficiency budgets stayed relatively flat over the...
Utilities worldwide are working hard to meet increasingly ambitious demand-side management goals. But this year, a lot of them are coming up against a hard truth: the dollars they spend on...
In 1898, William Barstow proposed time-of-day pricing at the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. His proposal was rejected. Fast forward more than a...
In 1898, William Barstow proposed time-of-day pricing at the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. His proposal was rejected. Fast forward more than a century, and dynamic pricing still hasn't taken off. Less than three percent of American households are on time-of-use rates. But thanks to a few innovators, that's starting to change. Last week, we convened experts from Baltimore Gas & Electric, Commonwealth Edison, and Accenture to discuss how they bucked 100 years of...
In 1898, William Barstow proposed time-of-day pricing at the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. His proposal was rejected. Fast forward more than a century, and dynamic pricing still hasn't...
Tom Baron, a Senior Manager at National Grid, has earned a reputation for making noteworthy moves. One of them was choosing to partner with Opower to deploy...
Tom Baron, a Senior Manager at National Grid, has earned a reputation for making noteworthy moves. One of them was choosing to partner with Opower to deploy personalized energy advice to a whopping 1.5 million households across Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. The results have been striking: National Grid has meaningfully reduced energy demand across its territory, and its customers have slashed their utility bills by more than $70 million since 2009. Tom and...
Tom Baron, a Senior Manager at National Grid, has earned a reputation for making noteworthy moves. One of them was choosing to partner with Opower to deploy personalized energy advice to a whopping...
On Thursday, Elon Musk revealed Tesla Motors’ long-awaited energy storage solution for homes and businesses. Within the year, utility customers will be able to...
On Thursday, Elon Musk revealed Tesla Motors’ long-awaited energy storage solution for homes and businesses. Within the year, utility customers will be able to buy 10 kilowatt-hours of clean, simple energy storage and fill it with solar power from their roofs — without breaking the bank. Is this the beginning of the utility death spiral? In the run-up to the announcement, Alex Laskey, Opower’s President and Founder, explained to Bloomberg West why cheap energy storage won’t...
On Thursday, Elon Musk revealed Tesla Motors’ long-awaited energy storage solution for homes and businesses. Within the year, utility customers will be able to buy 10 kilowatt-hours of clean, simple...
This summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will roll out the final version of its Clean Power Plan, and America's first-ever carbon standards for...
This summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will roll out the final version of its Clean Power Plan, and America's first-ever carbon standards for existing power plants will begin kicking into effect. With such an important rule on the horizon, we decided to check in with Carol Browner — administrator of the EPA under President Clinton, former energy and climate advisor to President Obama, and current member of Opower's advisory board — to learn what's changed since...
This summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will roll out the final version of its Clean Power Plan, and America's first-ever carbon standards for existing power plants will begin kicking...
