Americans Want to Use Less Energy and Save More on Rising Electricity Costs, Schneider Electric & Parks Associates Study Finds

Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, today launched a new report with Parks Associates, Orchestrating the Future of Home Energy Management, exploring home energy use trends in the United States. The report found that 86% of U.S. households want to reduce energy usage at home, but only 50% are actively taking steps to do so. These findings come as energy bills have already hit an average of $184 per month in the U.S., per JD Power, and costs are projected to climb higher by 4% on average this winter. The report was unveiled at Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit North America in Las Vegas, convening more than 2,500 business leaders and market innovators to accelerate practical solutions for a more resilient, affordable and intelligent energy future. 

Parks Associates research shows 61% of US internet households surveyed said their electricity costs are too high, with this rising to 66% for families of four and more. Although every income bracket reported feeling the financial impact of these high costs, a significant portion of surveyed households feel like they don’t have the capacity to reduce their bills. Of all US households, 22% can’t invest the time needed and 14% don’t know how to reduce usage.  

Consumers Want Help Reducing Energy Bills 

Even if they want to reduce their financial burdens, many consumers do not have access to the data needed to pinpoint areas of concern. Just 56% of households reported receiving an energy consumption breakdown from their provider. In turn, 24% are now looking at energy data from third-party sources, such as smart energy monitors or smart thermostats.

Even with available data, consumers have trouble actually integrating multiple smart devices and optimizing them into one ecosystem. Only 40% of households with these smart home devices have them acting in concert today, and 39% of that population had trouble coordinating multiple devices. 

“Home energy technology has come a long way in improving efficiency, but actually realizing those gains remains challenging. With too many disparate sources of data, it’s difficult for consumers to better manage their home energy,” commented Preeti Bajaj, Executive Vice President, Home Solutions, Schneider Electric. “This data underscores Schneider Electric’s mission to provide products and solutions that simplify home energy management is more essential than ever.”

Consumers also want to reduce energy usage before the power even reaches their homes. More than 1 in 10 U.S. internet-connected households (13%) already participate in demand response programs, which incentivize reduced usage during peak demand periods, and 40% of surveyed households want to take a step further, saying they would be willing to let their utilities automatically adjust their thermostats during peak usage events.

“Consumers see the benefit of a cohesive ecosystem that automatically coordinates their operations based on real-time energy demand, pricing and availability,” said Jennifer Kent, Vice President, Research, Parks Associates.

The Next Step in Smarter Home Energy Ecosystems

More consumers are also making investments into electric vehicles (EV), solar power, and even power storage. Over 15% of US internet-connected households now own solar, home battery storage, smart panel or EV technologies. 

“The growing interest in these technologies indicates that consumers understand that energy usage is far more than just consumption,” added Bajaj. “Today, it’s about optimizing energy in their homes, taking energy management into their own hands and sending energy from their homes back to the grid.”

While these investments can offer long-term savings on energy bills, potential savings can quickly disappear if not properly managed. Home energy management systems (HEMS) and smart controllers help prevent these issues by monitoring loads in real time, staggering operations, and optimizing usage based on energy rates, while coordinating other smart devices. 

“As the energy transition to smart, electrified, and renewable systems accelerates, HEMS serve as essential infrastructure — connecting utilities, devices and consumers to make the grid more flexible, efficient, and resilient for all of us,” Kent noted.

These findings demonstrate consumer demand for effective energy efficient solutions, such as Schneider Electric’s home energy solutions and residential products, which are installed and trusted in four out of 10 U.S. homes. For more information on Schneider Electric home energy management solutions, please visit: www.shop.se.com. 

Download and read the full report here.

Methodology

Parks Associates’ data included in this whitepaper are from an online survey of 8,015 heads-of-Internet households in the United States. As of year-end 2024, Parks Associates estimates 91% of all U.S. households have internet in their home. The survey is demographically representative of Internet households with quotas set for age, gender, and household income to be representative of U.S. households with home internet access. This survey was fielded between 12/31/2024 and 01/10/2025.