Understanding and beliefs about smart energy technology

The smart grid has been hailed for its potential to address a wide range of problems with current electricity infrastructure, with improvements expected in consumer awareness of energy use, energy efficiency, renewable energy distribution, and reliability of service. Some estimates suggest that the smart grid could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2%. However, a vocal minority has expressed concerns about the health, privacy, and cost impacts of the smart grid. Here we use a convenience sample of online respondents to quantitatively examine the American lay public's level of knowledge about smart meters and the smart grid and show that a majority of respondents are wholly unfamiliar with smart energy technology. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, in contrast to information-deficit model expectations, knowledge of and exposure to smart meters do not necessarily lead to acceptance. On the contrary, knowledge and exposure is associated with increased concerns about negative impacts of these technologies. Implications for smart grid policy interventions are discussed.