WebEnabled Thermostats Dennis Rominger Market Manager Customer Solutions
Web-Enabled Thermostats Dennis Rominger Market Manager, Customer Solutions 2012
Agenda § § § § What are Web-Enabled Thermostats? What is PSE doing with them? Let’s Talk Savings Target Market Timeline and Milestones Let’s Talk Instant Rebates Objectives and Partners Questions? 2
What are Web-Enabled Thermostats? § Optimize customers’ space heating system by combing the latest thermostat technology with behavioral tools § Fully installed pre-programmed system that will engage customers with a user interface § These thermostats will require to be programmed upon installation to initiate thermostat. 3
What is PSE doing with them? Key Objectives § Verify statistically significant cost-effective annual energy savings. § Track customer interactions with thermostat § Assess overall customer engagement and customer satisfaction levels 4
Lets talk Savings…… § PSE will plan to provisionally deem thermostat savings, up to 54 therms. § The energy usage of a test group will be compared to a control group and savings will be trued up following an evaluation. § Total savings for 2012 -13 are anticipated to be roughly 54, 000 therms for 1, 000 homes. § For deeming future electric k. Wh space heating savings, PSE will use the accepted RTF therm to k. Wh Conversion calculator. § Potential partnership with other electric utilities to partner on a separate program to deem electric savings. 5
Target Market § PSE will deploy 1, 000 web-enabled thermostats to single-family residential homes throughout PSE’s combined gas and electric service territory. § Another 1, 000 customers will be part of the control group and will not receive thermostat. § The target single-family residential home will be homes with natural gas as their primary heating source without other auxiliary fuels. 6
Target Market § Target customers are those with forced-air or hydronic whole home systems. According to PSE’s Residential Characteristic Study (RCS), § § § § Other relevant statistics that show the wide potential for this program: § § § § 68% of PSE single-family customers’ heat with forced-air/boiler natural gas 10% of PSE single-family customers heat with electric forced air (heat pump and electric resistance). 22% are zonal electric, fireplace NG, or have wood/propane heating. 78% of Americans have Internet Access Of those 80% have high speed Internet access 44% of Americans have smart phones Specific PSE Customers from a 2012 communication study: § 49% of PSE customers have smart phones 7
Timeline and Milestones § Quarter 3, 2012: Execute Honeywell/Opower contract § Quarter 4, 2012: Begin the PSE customer participant selection for test and control group § March 31, 2014: Collection of sufficient customer data § Quarter 2 & 3, 2014: Analysis of test and control group data § Quarter 4, 2014: Evaluation Report 8
Let’s talk Instant Rebates Like lighting and showerhead measures, PSE residential electric customers will receive an instant rebate on qualified Energy Star Freezers and CEE Tier 2 & 3 refrigerators purchased at select Sears & Home Depot stores. The select stores are the ones over 97% PSE customers based upon Wash. Wise Experience. So for the customers it means no filling out of rebate forms, which is an improvement on the customer experience. 9
Objectives and Partnerships § Improve the Customer Experience – Making the process to participate in PSE’s energyefficient rebates and programs more streamline. We know from studies from Definitive Insights that customers are more likely to make energy-efficiency purchases when rebates are available instantly. We also learned, based upon a clothes washer instant rebate pilot, roughly 30% of PSE customers don’t submit for their mail-in rebate. § Improve Program Cost-Effective – Appliance savings are diminishing and mail-in rebate administration costs are an expensive method to deliver rebates. We need alternative deliver methods on appliance rebates if we want to continue to have saving opportunities for customers. § Our partners in this project are: 10
Partnerships 11
Questions? 12
- Slides: 12