At the iimt, we predict that the general phenomenon of the majority opinion ("the crowd principle”) – electricity management is influenced by numerous participants – is one of the main drivers of the energy turnaround. The possibility for the consumer to produce, store and exchange self-produced electricity argues for this development. Consumers become so called prosumers and can unlock the potential to achieve sustainable goals like CO2 eduction or enhanced energy efficiency. Thus, the energy turnaround takes place from bottom-up. A precondition of the future is the intelligent grid, the technical equipment of small cells (house level), which can generate, store, and handle load (iGSL) – see figure. The cooperation among those cells to create a sustainable micro-grid as well as the technical and social influences however still requires more investigation. Therefore, the iimt creates the research field of Crowd Energy and launches several projects to investigate, besides technical aspects, the market design, the mental accounting of self-produced electricity, and the consumer behaviour – especially decision-making. A key aspect will be the clarification of efficiency facts concerning the underlying crowd principle and the impacts on the entire grid. Our goal is, hence, to develop a simulation tool based on the theories of socio-thermodynamics and urban living. The project of prosumer behaviour, on the other hand, should answer emerging questions for decision-making about self-produced electricity.
Currently, we conduct an online survey to find first indications. The questionnaire focuses on all persons who are already, or will be in the future, involved or interested in the electricity management. Join in! For further information, please visit our website www.crowd-energy.ch or get in touch with us by sending an email to crowd@iimt.ch