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Customers UTILITY WEEK | 29TH SEPTEMBER - 5TH OCTOBER 2017 | 29 12% 33% 32% 15% 8% Not at all interested Not very interested Somewhat interested Very interested Extremely interested 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% most common motivation for uptake of the Hive Thermostat was increased convenience and Amazon Echo owners mostly said they bought the technology because "it is cool". Across Amazon Echo, Nest and Hive own- ers were predominantly in the 18-24 and 25-34 age brackets, while age among smart meter owners was much more evenly spread, as was age among those who owned no smart technology. In addition to smart home technologies, distributed low-carbon innovations seem increasingly likely to disrupt traditional energy retail models, potentially enabling consumers to go "off-grid". If adopted in large volumes, these technologies will also pose significant challenges to energy network operators, transforming demand and loading patterns on the grid and potentially under- mining existing models for network charging. With this in mind, Utility Week and Harris Interactive also asked consumers how inter- ested they are in low-carbon technologies such as distributed renewable generation, battery storage and electric vehicles. The large majority of respondents expressed at least some interest in low- carbon technology, with the largest response group falling into the "very interested" category. This strong positive response is unsurprising, but encouraging in the light of high profile politi- cal and activist messaging about the need to decarbonise the UK economy and society. Despite strong interest in low-carbon technologies, ownership at a distributed level remains low, with almost 80 per cent of respondents saying they own no low-carbon or renewable technologies. The most com- mon type of distributed low-carbon tech owner by respondent was solar panels, fol- lowed by battery storage. Just 27 individuals said they owned both of these technologies, but this should be expected to rise signifi- cantly in the future as battery storage costs continue to tumble and consumers look to optimise self-supply. Across wind turbines, electric heat pumps The research shows that consumers are genuinely interested in smart technology "The research results are encouraging in that they demonstrate most consumers are genuinely interested in smart energy and low-carbon technologies. They also show the barriers to more widespread adoption are not insurmountable. "Clearly, price is going to be a huge hurdle for some, despite the fact that the costs of many smart and low-carbon technologies are falling, and it is going to be hard to persuade the majority of consumers that smart energy technology is as cool as something like Amazon Echo. However, clearly communicating how the technology works and what the real benefits are could have a real impact on adoption rates. "Although there is still a benefits communication challenge to overcome alongside the deployment of smart meters, the fact that the programme is gathering pace could lead to a step change in new technol- ogy adoption within the next few years if, as many hope, having a smart meter leads to households becoming more aware of their energy use and looking for new ways to reduce their bills." Mark Brenton, energy expert, Harris Interactive Would you say that you have become more interested in smart technologies since having your energy smart meter installed? Would you be interested in owning smart home appliances that would allow you to take advantage of 'time of use' tariffs that charge less for energy outside peak times? DO YOU OWN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING LOW-CARBON/RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES? and battery storage, the most common reason cited for not owning these technologies was a lack of understanding about the area. For HOW INTERESTED ARE YOU IN LOW-CARBON/RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES? Solar panels Wind turbine Electric heat pump Battery storage Electric vehicle None of these Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% No: 48% Yes: 52% Yes: 44% Unsure: 31% No: 25% 13% 80% 2% 4% 6% 4% 1% solar panels and electric vehicles, the short- term cost of buying the technology was the most commonly cited blocker to ownership.