Office Occupants’ Perspective Dealing with Energy Flexibility: A Large-Scale Survey in the Province of Bolzano

Abstract

The current energy system is dealing with an increasing share of renewable energy that, because of its intermittent availability, can affect the effectiveness of the energy supply. To cope with the problem, buildings need to become energy flexible. According to the definition given by IEA EBC Annex 67, energy flexibility is the ability of a building to manage its demand and generation according to local climate conditions, user needs and grid requirements. Users of energy-flexible buildings play a crucial role for an effective implementation, thus user acceptance and proper behaviour are important factors. In order to understand the current level of awareness on the topic and the general acceptance of the users, this paper presents the results of a large-scale survey distributed in the office buildings of the Province of Bolzano (Italy). This study investigates the information, experience, beliefs, and desires of the building users (i.e., office employees) with concepts and technologies dealing with energy flexibility, such as smart grids, smart appliances, and smart meters. This study identifies (i) the main socio-demographic characteristics associated to the information and desires about energy flexibility in office buildings, and (ii) the main conditions of social acceptance of flexible energy usages. Although this work is focused on a specific user type (i.e., office workers in the Province of Bolzano) and the results cannot be generalized, the analysis offers an interesting insight on the user perspectives and acceptance on energy flexibility and can be easily replicated. The results can be used at local level to provide insights for policies and strategies to encourage building users to be more flexible.

Keywords

• energy flexibility
• user acceptance
• office buildings
• smart technologies