From the technology side, technology must make sense in an economic way – without subsidies. If the economic advantage is not there, and it is in the best interest of everyone, then the government should mandate compliance to a higher standard. CAFE standards for cars is one example, as is the phasing out of Plasma TVs in California. But real enforcement of strict energy building codes and believable ratings such as “energy star” (though fraud appears to be an issue there as well) are critical to reducing overall energy consumption. As seen in CAFE standards, we were all told how expensive cars would become, but the assets of large corporations saw to it that the rise in car prices was minimized. Other government regulations are likely to be the same – overrun with claims that consumers will suffer, but when it comes to losing market, industry will innovate to save our bottom line in the end.

Emerging integrated demand response technology now works to “inform & motivate” power users to effectively curtail or manage energy use, and thus directly help improve grid reliability. As energy information becomes more abundantly available, the ability to distill it down to a few critical pieces of information that are easy to understand and drive action is critical. The barriers to increased participation have been its perceived complexity and varying rules of engagement, as well as the prospect of adversely impacting operations or the bottom line to do so. Many energy users would prefer complete flexibility in determining when and how to participate, as opposed to a system that mandates the “command and control” of an outside party. Participants in event-based command and control type programs would also like the opportunity to augment their earnings with inform and motivate style price-based programs. An integrated approach is needed…one that combines the two and allows participants to remain in control of their operations and costs while also providing a valuable standby service to the grid.

We all have seen presentations by folks who insist they have tried price-responsive demand and it does not work. “Even at $0.60 per kWh, we still can’t get customers to do anything,” said one just recently. The problem is that you need to do more than just send a price signal. The price information needs to be translated into the customers’ context and further quantified against actions they can take to extract the most advantage from the opportunity. Furthermore, it needs to be presented in a format that takes no more than a few seconds to understand. Of course, all this, as well as the aforementioned “kick” and common-sense governance/policies would go a long way. Still, at least we’re taking steps in the right direction!

You pointed out that it is standardization, technologies and government direction. I think that energy efficient choices need to come from education….(people sound educated but still make inefficient choices) then the next choice is standardization changes and promotion (advertising)… if the mindset is already there to be energy efficient then advertisers need to make advertising moves to get people to buy those energy efficient products…. just look at the iphone/droid ‘war’…. it is new, they say everyone wants one and it is a booming industry…. personally I don’t want one and I still wonder if a ‘non’ iphone is available for me to purchase…

How would you advertise Solar Powered Homes when people already know there is a huge price sticker attached to it?

From my experiences, effective energy management delivers green to both the fiscal and environmental bottom lines. In my state, Pennsylvania, deregulation of electricity markets is still in its transition stages, so businesses have yet to feel the full impact of “real” market prices. Once free from the “consumer protectionism” that regulated markets have provided, maybe we’ll see some more action toward change in practices. If businesses are currently paying, say $80/MWh and will pay $140/MWh in the deregulated marketplace, it will behoove them to seek out solutions that will save money – thus reducing both costs and environmental impact.

What kinds of changes in code are you suggesting? For residential consumers, mandating energy efficient appliances and such? For commercial/industrial/institutional customers, mandating building automation systems and energy efficient machinery?