A synthetic view of acceptance and engagement with smart meters in the United States

Smart meters are a crucial infrastructural feature of a modernizing grid. Smart meters enable dynamic rate structures, a wide range of smart home technologies, energy use feedback, and greater use of distributed renewable energy. Yet, ratepayers are often unfamiliar with smart meters and their benefits, have ambivalent or negative attitudes toward them, and may outright oppose their use. Past research has identified numerous factors that influence acceptance and engagement. However, these factors are tested in isolation and only partially representative of the broader literature on energy technologies. In this study, we compare the relative effect of an expanded range of factors on smart meter acceptance and engagement. We use a survey (N = 609) of homeowners in Ithaca, New York who are part of an upcoming smart meter rollout. We find that, ceteris paribus, familiarity and climate change risk perceptions have the greatest effect on smart meter acceptance, while smart meter acceptance, age, and income have the strongest effect on engagement. Our findings have two primary implications: (1) outreach and communication should focus on increasing familiarity and demonstrating the climate benefits of smart meter enabled products and services; and (2) that outreach and communication is insufficient to increase uptake by all segments of the population.