Household preferences for electricity flexibility
by University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) has been developed using joint design discussions and workshops with various stakeholders. The online survey was fielded in May–June 2026 and allowed to collect complete responses from 3,707 households in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Romania and Spain.
Among other, respondents were asked to state their preferences on hypothetical electricity-flexibility contracts imposing constraints related to usage of heating, residential appliances and electric mobility. Each contract varied in intervention frequency and timing, the option to skip one intervention per month, the associated monthly financial reward, and the potential reduction in the carbon footprint. This helps us understand both financial and non-financial motivations for participation, alongside constraints on comfort and everyday routines.
On average, pooling the three domains, close to two-thirds of respondents said they would accept such a flexibility contract. One key finding is that the option to skip an intervention once a month makes a contract more attractive. This suggests that households value retaining some autonomy when delegating control of their equipment. The monthly override leaves room for unexpected needs and may help build trust in the operator.
A second key finding is that timing matters differently across domains. Interventions on both appliances and heating are less popular in the evening (5–11 p.m.) than in the early morning (5–8 a.m.). This pattern is particularly pronounced for appliances between 5 and 8 p.m. These patterns may reflect households’ need to use appliances for daily tasks (cooking, cleaning, …) and maintain indoor comfort when at home. For electric vehicles, restrictions are least attractive between 8 and 11 a.m., consistent with a need to keep the car available for commuting and other trips that are difficult to reschedule. As expected, we also observe that respondents tend to prefer fewer interventions, larger reductions in electricity-related emissions and higher rewards. Flexibility contracts should consider these differences to minimize impact on households’ comfort and increase willingness-to-accept.
The data collected will be exploited for further investigations. In particular, one could investigate how preferences vary across household profiles, considering factors such as age, income, or equipment, and estimate the financial rewards people would require in exchange for specific restrictions on their electricity use.
A preliminary version of the paper has been accepted for presentation at three international events in autumn 2026: the 17th SAEE workshop for doctoral researchers in Zurich, Switzerland (16 October); the IAEE COP Symposium, held alongside COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye (11–14 November); and the 10th AIEE Energy Symposium on Energy Security in Turin, Italy (25–26 November).
