Awareness the key

Whether it is energy conservation or water management, or whatever, often the problem is awareness. Even if the technology is available, people are often unaware and even if aware, do not know how to use it.

Take for instance, smart meters. Touted as the key to effective energy management, it has failed to take off simply because of lack of awareness. The smart meter is a key to managing two-way information flows, and new research shows that smart meters are technically up to the challenges of the future. At the heart of the change they bring is information: information about the energy we use, how we use it, and the real value of that power. Data will flow in a two-way conversation between homeowners using electricity—and maybe even producing it, too—and the energy companies managing the electricity grid.

And yet... Research just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that consumers have only minimal knowledge of how to save energy, and this knowledge is critical to them getting the full benefit of the information smart meters provide. In each case it is clear that the technology is powerful but to put these tools to the most effective use more work needs to be done to effectively engage consumers, communities, and advocates as well as build the back-end systems for utilities.

Technology per se will not solve problems unless the end user uses it, and more important, knows how to use it. Take for instance, satellite imagery. There is loads of information availabel to land users and policy makers but as space departments will tell you, takers are few. New technology is resisted because it is scary. It is very important for agencies involved to break down the technology and make it easy to understand and use it.