Eliciting Requirements for Demand Response Service Design to Households: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Demand response has been discussed as one of the key means through which peak energy demand could be ameliorated. A wide variety of research and trial studies have been conducted on this topic. Yet, there has been no requirements elicitation exercise undertaken to explicitly state the requirements that a smart appliance automation service must address to be accepted by households at large. This paper presents a pilot study on just such an exercise, identifying key themes from pilot interviews. From these themes we identify several groups of requirements, such as a need to retain ultimate appliance control (e.g., through manual overrides); need for discriminating between specific appliances and their contexts for automation; and the need to be able to associate personal meaning to the service participation process by setting own goals.