Energy Efficiency Archives - Page 4 of 5

5 Trends to Watch for Electric Utilities in 2021

The new year is here — and that means new trends for electric utilities to watch in the months ahead. It’s important to stay ahead of these innovations so your energy utility stand out as a trusted resource to customers. To help start the new year right, here are five energy trends for electricity consumption and end-use electric equipment for 2021 and beyond.

1. Electricity Consumption

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts electricity generation from renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, will rise from 17% in 2019 to 22% in 2021. The EIA also forecasts that total U.S. electricity consumed in 2021 will be similar to 2020 consumption. Further, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast of fewer cooling degree days in 2021 will offset an increased demand for space heating.

2. Beneficial Electrification

U.S. renewable energy consumption recently surpassed coal for the first time in over 130 years. Replacing direct fossil fuel use (propane, heating oil, gasoline) with electricity is saving customers money while benefiting the environment. For example, even as beneficial electrification has become more popular, carbon dioxide emissions per MWh from electric power generation has decreased 28% from 2005 to 2018.

Beneficial electrification applications in transportation, space heating, cooking and water heating is improving consumer quality of life and increasing grid resilience. Comparatively, propane and heating oil are twice as expensive as a fuel for space and water heating. Electric vehicles are also saving consumers about $1,000 per year on fuel costs while offering lower maintenance costs, decreased emissions and better acceleration.

3. Lighting Functionality

Fixture efficacy in the range of 200 lumens per watt is becoming more common. With energy efficiency of LED lighting reaching a plateau, the relationship between light and health is receiving even greater emphasis. As a result, the quality of light is replacing efficacy as a major discriminator for lighting specifiers.

The DesignLights Consortium’s (DLC) Networked Lighting Controls program is supporting a major shift toward interconnectivity. Lighting is also serving multiple functions from sound deadening to asset management to wireless internet connectivity to sanitation. Platforms like DALI-2 and PoE++ are enabling software-defined connected lighting that is more flexible and scalable. Lighting as a Service (LaaS) is allowing companies to better focus on their core competencies, rather than on energy infrastructure.

4. Indoor Air Quality

Building owners are realizing the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) on employee health and productivity. Electric device manufacturers are answering the call. Ultraviolet (UV) light is being used to sanitize and disinfect spaces and mass transit vehicles. Fiber-based air filters are now built with an electrostatic charge and integrated UV lights to achieve better filtration from impingement, charge attraction and UV disinfection.

Plasma generators produce a stream of ions in supply ducts that make microscopic particles clump together and fall out of the air. These ions also enter the conditioned space to kill bacteria and germs before dissipating. Humidity is being removed by desiccant wheels or added using steam, ultrasonic or high-pressure misting systems.

5. Battery Energy Storage

The U.S. energy storage market is set to grow from 1.2 GW in 2020 to nearly 7 GW in 2025, representing sixfold growth. Front-of-the-meter battery storage is helping utilities with frequency regulation, voltage support and black start. Behind-the-meter battery storage is enabling time-of-use bill management, demand charge reduction, increased PV solar self-consumption and backup power resiliency.

Lithium-ion (Li-On) batteries provide higher-capacity storage, longer rated life and lower maintenance costs. Standards like NFPA 855 Installation of Stationary Storage Systems and the 2018 International Fire Code (IFC), Section 1206, have given users guidelines for safer operation of batteries.

Electric utilities: New trends for the new year

Now is the time to prepare for the trends your electric utility’s customers should be focused on in 2021 and beyond. Forecasts about electricity consumption and beneficial electrification can help your utility plan how to market your programs in the new year. Plus, understanding the changes in lighting and indoor air quality is especially important in helping customers push through the coronavirus pandemic and return to a “new normal.” A lot is in store for electric energy use this year — is your energy utility ready?

Want to keep your customers informed of new trends in energy technology? Add a Questline Digital eNewsletter to your engagement strategy.

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Solar Chimneys: Clean and Cost-Effective Heating and Cooling

As we prepare for the big man in red to make his yearly appearance, his normal entryway for businesses is getting an upgrade. Solar chimneys are becoming a more common building design element to create comfortable environments inside.

What are solar chimneys?

Solar chimneys, also known as a thermosiphon or thermal chimneys, are “passive” conduits that harness environmental conditions to generate cool air within buildings and expel hot air, or vice versa. Comparably, many buildings use “active” energy consuming measures, which use complex building systems to create comfortable indoor conditions, such as boilers and chillers.

Solar chimneys are tall structures designed to face the sun with a dark, matte surface to absorb solar radiation. They use the same principle as a fireplace, where the heat naturally rises to the top of the chimney and cool air enters the bottom. In the case of solar chimneys, the sun is what causes the air to heat up and rise. This allows cooler air from below to be pulled into the chimney, warmed and vented. The process of rising hot air and entering cool air provides ventilation in the chimney and helps cool the building below.

However, solar chimneys can also be used to heat buildings when the weather turns cool. For this, the ventilation outlet at the top of the chimney, where the hot air normally exhausts, is closed and interior vents are opened, allowing the hot air back into the building.

The keys to solar chimney design

Solar chimneys are particularly effective when they are placed in an area where they can be directly hit by sunlight. Size matters too — they need to be tall and wide, but not too deep so that the surface areas that both absorb the sun and come in contact with the air inside the chimney is maximized. Solar chimneys can vary in design for maximum efficiency, including adding multiple chambers to increase the surface area or using materials that absorb the most heat, such as a black frame, tinted glass and insulated glazing.

Another important aspect of the design is how cool air gets funneled into the solar chimney. Two methods are typically used for this ventilation process. One option is to open windows on the lowest level of the building to capture cool air flowing through the building and send it the base of the chimney. Another option is to bury a pipe underground; the air in the pipe cools and eventually makes its way to the base of the chimney where it can be heated and released. The design one chooses is up to the capabilities of the building and cost.

The benefits of solar chimneys

There are numerous advantages to using a solar chimney to regulate the air inside buildings.

Solar chimneys have a smaller impact on the environment compared to traditional chimneys that emit smoke. Solar chimneys simply emit air, thus no pollution and no carbon dioxide emissions.
Solar chimneys are a cost-effective choice for a cooling and heating system compared to air conditioning or heating units. Plus, no electricity or gas is needed to power the chimney.
They are more reliable and easier to maintain than conventional units since they don’t require any actual mechanics. No power outages or breakdowns affect them — only sunlight. Since they don’t require fuels to operate, they also are easier to keep clean.

As business customers consider more cost-effective and eco-friendly options to heat and cool their buildings, solar chimneys are becoming a viable choice. As their energy utility, it’s important to be aware of this trending technology to assist your customers in their decision-making. Plus, with the holidays around the corner, Santa will certainly appreciate the latest innovation in chimney technology.

Educate your utility’s business customers about the latest energy trends and technologies with an eNewsletter from Questline Digital.

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Demand Response: Key Benefits for Business Customers

Infographic listing ways to get business customers to participate in demand response programs

As demand on the U.S. power grid continues to grow, energy utility demand response programs are gaining traction. These beneficial programs compensate participants for temporarily reducing their energy usage during periods of peak demand.

Many business customers are hesitant about the program and its impact on operations. For example, will reducing energy use during a demand response event significantly impede workflow? With this concern top of mind, it can be a challenge to encourage business customers to join your energy utility’s program.

Through our experience working with energy utilities on their demand response campaigns, we’ve identified four key value propositions to increase participation.

Demand response is a partnership

The program is a mutual solution for both energy utilities and local businesses. By joining forces with their energy utility and other area businesses, energy utility customers can help reduce the risk of grid overload, preventing mandatory blackout or brownouts.

When promoting the program, emphasize how enrolling in a demand response program is an opportunity to make a difference for the local community. By working together with their energy utility, business customers can help ensure grid reliability for everyone.

Demand response is easy to use

Many business customers are hesitant to participate in a program they view as complicated and time-consuming. In reality, the program is very simple and straightforward for participants. All they have to do is reduce their energy use during peak energy events (typically 2 to 4 hours) a few times a year. Advance notice typically ranges from 12 hours to two days.

In your program promotions, reinforce how customers have the flexibility to reduce energy usage in the ways that work best for their specific industry. For example, a manufacturing facility can reduce certain equipment usage or delay heating/cooling processes. An office building, in comparison, can shut off lights in rooms with ample daylight or where no employees are working. There are many options to reduce energy usage during peak demand, no matter the industry.

Make sure your business customers know your energy utility is there to suggest opportunities for their particular business to lower energy usage if they are unsure where to begin.

Demand response is cost-effective

Participating can be a smart financial decision for businesses. Be sure to highlight the cost savings for business customers and how this program can benefit their bottom line.

It is also an opportunity for business customers to decrease their year-over-year energy spending. With the extra cost savings from reducing their energy use, they can put that money back into their business operations. In addition, many demand response programs compensate participants even when no events occur.

Demand response helps the planet

The environment is a hot topic right now, especially as energy utilities plan for their midcentury clean energy goals. Demand response programs are just one element to help reduce energy consumption and demand on the grid.

While environmental benefits are less effective as the main value proposition in your campaign, it is still important to educate customers about the greater purpose behind the program. For eco-conscious business customers, the opportunity to make a difference for the environment may be a deciding factor to enroll.

Demand response is essential to the reliability and stability of the grid. That’s why you need a marketing campaign that drives participation among your business customers. These value propositions can help take your campaign to the next level — and help customers see the valuable benefits of joining this vital program.

Learn how the experts at Questline Digital can drive participation in your demand response program.

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Energy Efficiency Investments: The Cost of Doing Nothing

Time is money, as they say. Even time spent doing nothing can add up. The time spent procrastinating on a project instead of focusing to get it done? That adds up to a late assignment and possibly an upset manager.

In the energy utility industry, consider the time customers spend contemplating the purchase of energy efficient products and the money wasted on inefficient items. Everything has a cost. Read on to learn about the cost of doing nothing and how you can help your utility’s business customers improve their bottom line with energy efficiency investments.

Customers lose money by not making energy efficiency investments

Putting off an investment in energy efficiency introduces two types of risk: price volatility and lost opportunity. Prices generally rise over time — energy costs increase when supply tightens and demand escalates. The price of HVAC equipment, lighting systems, motors, drives, boilers and unit heaters fluctuate with the season and increase over time. In addition, labor costs almost never decrease. An energy efficiency investment two years from now may cost a lot more than an investment would today.

More so, federal, state and utility incentive programs may not be available two years from now. Possibly, tax credits may not be renewed by a new administration or the credits themselves may be phased out. In general, the loss of programs or opportunities for incentives and tax credits may disappear in the near future, which will make the investment cost grow exponentially. In the long run, business customers will lose money by doing nothing.

Take a look at the graph below. Consider the annual energy use of a current appliance compared to a more energy efficient alternative. Whether business customers do nothing or make an investment in the alternative, they are still committed to use the lower level of energy (illustrated on the right).

Chart showing energy savings for upgrading to an efficient appliance

If your customers do nothing, they will continue to consume the extra amount of energy above the energy efficiency investment result (shown by the green bar below). Whether or not customers make an investment in energy efficiency, they are still either paying for the wasted energy or paying for the investment in efficiency.

Chart showing energy and cost savings for investing in efficient appliances

Help customers save with your incentives and programs

As you can see, there is a cost for doing nothing — which ultimately leads to higher overall payments for your business customers. That’s why it’s important for your energy utility to continue promoting the importance of energy efficient products.

Your energy utility needs to showcase itself as a trusted source of information for customers who are looking to make big-ticket item decisions. Connect business customers to your marketplace and promote your energy efficiency incentives and programs. Also, let customers know you are there to support them on their efficiency journey. In the long run, your energy utility will build lasting relationships with your customers, while also helping them to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Learn how to boost participation in your energy efficiency initiatives with a Program Promotions strategy.

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Work from Home: The Impact on Energy Use

Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, more people are working from home than ever. In fact, 42% of the U.S. labor force now works from home full-time. What does this mean for your customers’ energy consumption?

According to CBS News, California residential energy use has risen 15% to 20% during the pandemic and New York energy use is up 4% to 7%.This is comparable to the International Energy Agency’s projections, noting that working from home could increase energy consumption by as much as 23%, “depending on regional differences in the average size of homes, heating or cooling needs and the efficiency of appliances.”

As customers spend more time working at home, they are using home office electronics throughout the day along with increased use of lighting, heating and cooling — even using kitchen appliances instead of the breakroom microwave at work. Of course, this all leads to an increase in home energy bills as well.

Payment options and efficiency advice for work-from-home customers

Questline Digital deployed more 72 million COVID-19-related messages on behalf of energy utilities during the initial months of the crisis. Those performance metrics painted a clear picture of the information customers wanted from their energy utilities.

Based on this insight, Questline Digital developed two key recommendations for connecting with work-from-home customers:

Provide useful energy efficiency advice so customers can take control of their bills.
Proactively communicate billing options to customers who are unfamiliar with assistance programs.

At the beginning of the crisis, email newsletters were the most reliable way to reach customers, as most utilities suspended program promotions and other non-essential communications. eNewsletters delivered record levels of engagement in March 2020, with a 37% average open rate — 65% higher than the same month the previous year. One of the most popular content topics throughout the spring was energy efficiency, especially saving energy in a home office.

When energy utilities resumed marketing campaigns in the late spring and early summer, energy efficiency and paperless billing campaigns were the top performers. Energy efficiency messages achieved a 26% average open rate, surpassing the benchmark rate by 11%.

There is a more worrying trend lurking in the shadows of the work-from-home surge: The economic shutdown caused by the pandemic has left 30 million Americans without jobs. Some dual-income households have even faced the prospect of losing income from one family member while another continues working from home, driving up energy costs. Many of these people are facing financial hardship for the first time and may not be familiar with your utility’s billing options and payment assistance programs.

A major investor-owned utility in the Southeast sent a payment reminder email to more than 86,000 customers early in the crisis. The message provided an option to make partial payments and linked to the utility’s COVID-19 resource page. The email experienced extraordinary engagement rates with a 41% open rate and 5,850 total clicks.

A permanent shift in home energy use

As many companies continue to allow employees to work from home, it is clear that work culture is changing. For example, Google employees are working from home until at least summer 2021 and Twitter staff can do so permanently. Even when the pandemic ends, a survey by the Harvard Business School found that one in six workers is projected to continue working from home at least two days a week.

Despite growing questions about a continued work from home future, it is apparent that this is just the beginning. Your energy utility needs to continue to prepare customers for the increased costs that come with their home office, whether through payment options or energy efficiency tips.

The future of our work-from-home world may be unknown, but what is known are the numerous ways your energy utility can help your residential and business customers. Be a trusted resource as customers continue to work through the struggles of a pandemic.

Learn how proactive communications like Questline Digital‘s Payment Assistance Campaign connect customers with billing options when they need help the most.

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