On the design of a survey for reconciling consumer behaviors with demand response in the smart home

There are many avenues of current and future research for addressing peak load strain on the U.S. electricity grid. With peak loads in many areas mainly comprising residential loads, the opportunities for residential demand response are great. Behavior changes accompanying technical solutions hold the promise of large and long lasting energy savings and peak reductions. By engaging disciplines outside the typical domain of the electric power industry, specifically psychology, there is the opportunity to motivate residential customers. This may be achieved by customized prompts and feedback designed to change behaviors. The result may lead to more efficient operation of the distribution grid, substantial peak load reductions, and efficiency gains. To that end, this paper presents two potential multi-criteria decision-making methodologies as they would apply to a residential building energy management system. The control system would need user-specific input, and this paper presents a procedure that incorporates fundamentals of social psychology for developing a survey to ascertain user preferences.