Preferences on Home Energy Management Systems - A Study of Potentials for the Use of End User Flexibilities

Due to the increase of volatile renewable energy resources, additional flexibility in the electricity system is necessary to ensure a technically and economically efficient network operation. To tap flexibilities like private storages, participatory developed and user-friendly technical solutions are essential. In this work, the acceptance and the market potential of a home energy management system with focus on i) grid optimization, ii) self-consumption optimization, and iii) additional functions for increased comfort is presented. This is determined by means of a representative survey. The main results show that the perceived usefulness and accessibility are the most important influence factors affecting the end user’s intention to use. Based on the given acceptance, the solution provides a market potential of one third of the users for an increased use of flexibilities in the investigated area.