Behavior vs. Automation: The Impacts of "Set It and Forget It" in the Multifamily Sector

Numerous studies have demonstrated the savings potential of providing real-time energy information, dynamic rates, and/or direct load control of air conditioning and other end uses to single-family homeowners. Little is known, however, about how multifamily building construction and tenant behaviors differ from single-family home construction and homeowner behaviors with respect to energy savings. Even less is known about energy and load savings when multifamily customers automate their thermostats to respond to their comfort preferences and real-time changes in the price of electricity. To fill this gap in knowledge and to explore the potential for codification of energy management systems in multifamily buildings, an electric utility, a consulting group and a governmental agency partnered to study a customer-controlled time-of-use and energy management program during summer 2013. This study compared electricity use and electricity using behaviors of a control group with 1) customers on a time-of-use/critical peak rate, 2) customers with the rate plus an in-home electricity display, and 3) customers with the rate, the display and a communicating thermostat they were assisted in setting to automatically respond to rate variations and comfort preferences. Findings indicate that in the multifamily sector, information alone has no additional impact on energy and demand over a TOU-CPP rate, but that a TOU-CPP rate results in 5%-7% energy savings, 9%-16% weekday peak savings (TOU effect), and 15%-21% event peak savings (CPP effect). The addition of automation does not improve energy savings, but doubles weekday and event peak savings to 29% and 35% respectively.