At the TransFuture Festival energy producers and energy users came together. In our ‘co-creation’ workshop an innovative product was placed under the scrutiny of the workshop participants.

Energy innovator and producer Qurrent presented a newly developed application for dynamic pricing in consumer households: through a designated app or computer dashboard the user can adapt energy usage in their home to favourable timing (high supply vs low demand determining energy prices). Does it work in daily practice? Some 20 participants responded to the questions at hand. By means of ‘open’ questioning some new and surprising consumer insights arose, next to the obvious responses.

The responses mainly referred to preferred usage of in-home produced power supply, e.g. by means of solar panels, and to the flexibility of energy usage. The actual control over timing and the planning of workload of appliances did not appear to be a deal breaker. External management of energy usage, for instance the washer or dryer being switched on at favorable price time lapses only, was not perceived as a problematic issue by participants. There was however a general preference for optimizing energy usage in connection with home produced and thus renewable energy: with the sun out producing energy through home solar panels, should be the moment to turn on the washer.

Intensive monitoring of variable energy prices and adapting household energy usage seems to be a minor topic at present – this would possibly change if multiple major energy absorbing appliances like an electric car, become part of the daily household.

This co-creation session was successful due to the set-up, especially effective for innovative products or services like the one we handled on this occasion. For this Qurrent service, which had been extensively tested by consumer panels, several surprising views and questions arose. Co-creation works, and Energysense can play a value added role.

Would you like to co-create and take part in developing new energy services and products? E-mail us at info@energysense.nu and you will be invited to participate in the next session!