Whirlpool Study: Consumers Still In The Dark On Smart Grid

Appliances that use so-called smart grid technologies are considered to be the future of environmentally sustainable homes and green building.

However, a recent survey conducted on behalf of Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp. and Habitat for Humanity International found that 70 percent of consumers feel they only "somewhat understand" how it works.

In addition, only 43 percent of all consumer respondents indicated they know what smart grid technology is, although the number was greater for respondents in the upper middle (63 percent) and high-income (57 percent) segments.

The survey was conducted by the NAHB Research Center, which reported opinions from consumers and builders on topics related to green home building.

The consumer portion of the survey also showed that of all smart grid-aware respondents, only 35 percent believe their community somewhat understands smart grid technology. A total of 46 percent of the same segment said they feel their community does not understand the technology at all.

"These survey findings suggest that there needs to be greater emphasis on smart grid education among all of us, which would encourage more green building," said Warwick Stirling, global director of energy and sustainability at Whirlpool Corp. "Whirlpool has committed to make all of its appliances Smart Grid-compatible by the end of 2015, so it understands how important it is to have everyone working together to promote knowledge on the topic of smart grid."

The builder portion of the survey showed a similar perception of consumer knowledge on the subject. Of all smart grid-aware respondents, 62 percent said that they believe homeowners do not understand smart grid technology at all. smart grid-aware builder respondents generally felt more confident with their own knowledge of the technology, with 79 percent answering that they at least somewhat understand how it works. A total of 51 percent of smart grid-aware builder respondents noted that they believe the home building industry as a whole understands how the technology works.

An encouraging find in the consumer survey was that 48 percent of smart grid-aware respondents indicated that smart grid-compatible appliances will be very important to green homes. In the builder survey, 64 percent of smart grid-aware respondents said these appliances will be at least somewhat important to green homes in the future. 

The primary information sources from which smart grid-aware consumer respondents learned about smart grid technology were the Internet (51 percent), television or radio (46 percent) and magazines or periodicals (28 percent).

For more information on the partnership between Whirlpool and Habitat, visit www.whirlpoolcorp.com/habitat.