Better information on residential energy use may deter investment in efficiency: case study of a smart metering trial

Smart metering allows electricity utilities to provide consumers with better information on their energy usage and to apply time of use tariffs. These measures have been shown to reduce electricity consumption and induce time-shifting of demand. Less is known about how they affect residential energy efficiency investment behaviour. Using data from a randomised-controlled trial on a sample of 2500 Irish consumers we show that exposure to time of use pricing and better information over a 12 month period can have the unintended effect of reducing investment in energy efficiency measures within the home.