This project seeks to understand the factors influencing the adoption process for all customers, identifying challenges, barriers, and risks of adoption of data and digital technologies in the context of smart-homes by reviewing and analysing both academic and industry-level research and project outcomes, which would then be applied to the testing phase of this project to prove or disprove the findings and identify appropriate mitigating factors

Problem Bring Solved

In order to meet the challenge of achieving net-zero by 2050, the UK needs to decarbonise 20,000 properties each week for the next 25 years to meet its goal. This includes work to improve households’ energy and water efficiency, which considers the technologies and appliances, as well as the building fabric itself. Even small changes at the household level can result in a significant impact on the energy network when aggregated. Such a large-scale implementation requires influencing household behaviours. The ability to engage with the transition to net-zero is not something that customers universally possess. An individual may be limited by their 1) capacity to engage, 2) the opportunity to participate, or 3) their willingness to take the risk, as explored by CSE (2018): 1. A customer requires the intellectual capability to understand the benefits of the solution being offered, the financial capabilities to purchase the solution being offered, and the technical capability to use the solution appropriately. 2. A customer requires the opportunity to participate, be that a service provider offering them the opportunity, or if there is a need for their participation on the system they are connected to. 3. Often with innovation comes risk and uncertainty. A customer, particularly one with additional needs, may not have the same appetite for risk and therefore may be unwilling to participate. Low-income and/or vulnerable households, often considered the hard to reach, can often be left behind due to one, or a combination of, the above points being true. The adoption process may not be directly relevant to these households, as the decision is made for them at the first stage based on the barriers to entry they face. As such, the majority of those who are currently engaged with the journey to net-zero and may already be using low-carbon technologies are not those who would benefit the most from the potential bill savings derived from these technologies. The decarbonisation agenda must therefore address this, ensuring that nobody is left behind or disadvantaged