Adoption of smart energy technologies in the context of sustainable development

Abstract

This paper focuses on the analysis of the shift towards smart energy technologies in a post-COVID era marking and describing it as a process of transition from crisis to an immense opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic with its lockdowns and social distancing made people to spend more time indoors helping them to realize the extent of the climate change and global warming and their effect on the human lives. In addition, it also caused a noticeable shift in consumer behaviour towards energy consumption and re-thinking energy efficiency. Central to this transformation is the increasing adoption of smart energy technologies, which are playing a pivotal role in enhancing energy efficiency within households and across communities. Our paper demonstrates how smart energy technologies not only lead to significant savings on utility bills but also reduce the environmental impacts by lowering carbon emissions and increase the acceptance of the novel energy technologies. Additionally, they make consumers worldwide aware of the ways and solutions how to reduce their energy consumption behavioural trends and minimize the negative impacts of human economic and social activities on the environment via adapting green energy technologies and shifting in the direction of the renewable energy solutions.