Small businesses and households invited to shape future energy programs through CSIRO Living Lab
Recruitment is continuing for CSIRO's National Energy Analysis Centre Living Lab, with households and small businesses across New South Wales invited to share their energy experiences to help evaluate consumer programs and inform future policy.
Recruitment is continuing for CSIRO's National Energy Analysis Centre (NEAC) Living Lab, with households and small businesses across New South Wales invited to participate in long term research examining how Australians use energy and respond to consumer energy programs.
The Connected Energy Insights project, delivered through a collaboration between CSIRO and the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), is seeking to recruit 1,000 households and 60 small businesses. Participants share energy data and information about the decisions they make around energy technologies, creating an ongoing source of evidence that can be used to evaluate existing programs and guide future policy. In return, participants are given personalised information about their energy use.
Consumer experience at the centre of research
The project combines energy analytics with direct participation from households and businesses, allowing researchers to compare energy data with the experiences and choices of consumers.
For DCCEEW, the information collected is intended to provide an evidence based understanding of which consumer energy initiatives are reducing energy bills, where existing programs may not be reaching all consumers and where future support could be adjusted. The project also aims to inform planning for a more equitable energy transition by identifying barriers to participation and opportunities to improve outcomes for households and businesses.
Resource for future studies
The Living Lab has been established as an ongoing research platform that gives researchers, governments and industry access to a diverse group of pre recruited households and businesses. This allows studies ranging from surveys through to multi year trials to be undertaken without building participant networks for each project.
Research may investigate consumer behaviour, trial energy saving technologies, evaluate energy programs and examine how different approaches affect energy use and the broader electricity system. Participants receive personalised insights into their own energy use and may choose whether to participate in individual research projects as they become available.
Privacy forms part of the project design, with participant data de identified and stored separately from personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. Where monitoring equipment is installed, participants can also access their own energy data.
Small businesses invited to participate
The project is encouraging small businesses to register alongside households to broaden understanding of how different consumers use energy and adopt new technologies.
By maintaining an established pool of participants, the Living Lab enables researchers and policymakers to undertake research more efficiently and evaluate energy initiatives using information gathered from real homes and businesses rather than one off studies.
For businesses managing energy costs or considering investments in new energy technologies, participation offers an opportunity to contribute practical experience while receiving personalised information about their own energy use. The knowledge generated through the project is expected to help shape future consumer energy programs that better reflect the needs of businesses operating across New South Wales.
