A qualitative analysis of consumer motivations and barriers towards active smart meter utilization

Smart meter technology provides a range of benefits to residential endusers from reducing their energy consumption, increase renewable energy deployment and generate cost savings. Although the infrastructure in Vienna, Austria, is nearly fully deployed, the active utilization of smart meter functionalities, which is key to leverage its full potential, remains poor. This research explores motivational factors and barriers using qualitative data from 26 semi-structured interviews conducted in Vienna, Austria. In general, the willingness to use smart meters is high; however, awareness about their functionalities is low. Besides well-known factors of pro-environmental behavior and cost-savings analyzed in available literature, our results point out the relevance of self-determination, which is key for utilization. On the other side, information decifit, cognitive load, risk-aversion, have been identified as key barriers to utilization. Based on our results, we compare the findings to other countries with different rollout strategies. Finally, practical policy recommendations are discussed to increase active smart meter utilization.