Search Results for « Prosumers »

Prosumers are agents that both consume and produce energy. With the growth in small and medium-sized agents using solar photovoltaic panels, smart meters, vehicle-to-grid electric automobiles, home batteries and other ‘smart’ devices, prosuming offers the potential for consumers and vehicle owners to re-evaluate their energy practices. As the number of prosumers increases, the electric utility sector of today is likely to undergo significant changes over the coming decades, offering possibilities for greening of the system, but also bringing many unknowns and risks that need to be identified and managed. To develop strategies for the future, policymakers and planners need knowledge of how prosumers could be integrated effectively and efficiently into competitive electricity markets. Here we identify and discuss three promising potential prosumer markets related to prosumer grid integration, peer-to-peer models and prosumer community groups. We also caution against optimism by laying out a series of caveats and complexities. Small-scale renewable energy systems and smart technologies are enabling energy consumers to become producers and service providers as well. This Perspective explores this ‘prosumption’ phenomenon, highlighting three promising prosumer market models and the challenges for future implementation.

Smart grids have created an emerging entity of “prosumer” in the energy value network who not only consumes energy but also generates and shares the green energy with the utility grid. Hence, effective management of prosumers has become pivotal to ensure a long-term, sustainable energy-sharing process. Recently, the concept of a Prosumer Community Group (PCG) has emerged as one of the most promising and effective ways to manage prosumers. However, developing sustainable PCGs is challenging. One of the key challenges in this regard is to assess the contribution made by individual prosumers of a PCG, and find a subset of the most influential prosumers whose behavior would facilitate the long-term sustainability of the PCG. In this paper, we have focused on this challenge and proposed an innovative methodology to assess and rank the prosumers, in order to build an influential membership base. We have assessed the long-term and short-term energy behaviors of prosumers based on multiple evaluation criteria and accordingly decided the ranks of the prosumers, whereby the higher ranked prosumers are deemed to be more influential in enhancing the long-term sustenance of the PCG. Furthermore, we have presented simulation results to verify our proposed methodology. The current literature on smart-grid research field has no work investigating this challenge, making our contribution novel.

The electricity sector is in a transition towards a Smart Energy System where the roles of private and institutional actors are evolving. This work deals with the influence of some technological innovations, enabling social innovations such as peer to peer trading and the participation in local energy collectives, on the regulation of the rights and obligations of consumers and prosumers in the electricity sector. It identifies the main radical innovations in the electricity market and analyses the legal and related non-legal obstacles that may impede the empowerment of energy consumers and prosumers. Some recommendations are provided to ensure that consumers and prosumers are empowered and can benefit from these new technological and social innovations in the electricity market. The recommendations relate to an accurate definition of prosumers and active consumers, the integration of demand response, the evolving role of distribution network operators and the birth of peer-to-peer trading.

This paper explores the evolving renewable energy ‘prosumer’ phenomenon in the United Kingdom (UK). It identifies and evaluates how prosumer business models can exist beyond direct subsidy and the range of prosumer business model archetypes currently in operation. Through a series of in-depth interviews and document analysis, the paper identifies the key opportunities and challenges for these innovative energy business models. The analysis shows that recent developments in technology such as the diffusion of smart meters, li-ion batteries, peer-to-peer trading platforms and electric vehicles are opening up a range of new value propositions, which in turn are beginning to be exploited by a range of new business models. In many cases the regulatory, financing and institutional governance landscape of the UK lags behind, however, inhibiting these emerging business models. Moreover, these business models rely on managing a complex set of values for consumers that reach deeper into their lives than traditional tariffs. Thus, successful business models must manage this complexity if they are to be adopted by the disengaged majority. Energy policy and energy practitioners can leverage these emerging trends in service of a low carbon energy transition by adopting ‘ten principles’ of prosumerism; and six UK policy recommendations.

In recent years, the concept of the prosumer has garnered extensive attention across various fields, including marketing, energy consumption, and innovation research. This attention is driven by the significant role prosumers play in developing more efficient, sustainable, and health-conscious market systems, propelled by advancements in social and technological domains. Broadly defined, a prosumer is an individual who acts as both a producer and a consumer. Originally coined by Toffler in the 1980s, the term describes individuals who blur the lines between producers and consumers by engaging in the creation of value for their own use or for others. Prosumers are seen as external partners who participate in co-creation processes with organizations, contributing to innovative outcomes and the production of the products and services they consume. The concept of the prosumer, individuals who simultaneously act as producers and consumers, has gained significant attention across various sectors. This entry explores the evolving role and impact of prosumers on sustainability, innovation, and market dynamics. A comprehensive literature review and empirical analysis were conducted to understand prosumer behavior and contributions. The findings reveal that the prosumers’ roles range from significantly enhancing sustainability by generating renewable energy to promoting personalized education via teacher–prosumer models. They also drive technological advancements in fields such as 3D printing and cryptocurrency. The study concludes that prosumers have the potential to foster a more resilient and inclusive economy, although challenges such as regulatory barriers and technological dependencies must be addressed to fully leverage their contributions.

National Energy Strategy. Fluorescent and incandescent lamp standards are included in the national Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486, October 24, 1992). A few states have analyzed or implemented lamp and luminaire standards. Many policy-related issues merit further investigation. For example, there is considerable debate over issues such as mandatory or voluntary standards versus component labeling and other education-oriented strategies. Several different technologies are involved that interact with each other-lamps (incandescent, compact fluorescent, and HID), ballasts (for fluorescent and HID lamps), and fixtures with reflectors and lenses. Control systems and operation patterns must also be considered (timers, automated dimming, or occupancy sensors). Lighting applications are diverse, ranging from offices, restaurants, hallways, hospital operating rooms, to exterior lights. Lighting energy use influences heating and cooling requirements in buildings. Successful lighting system design must also address interactions between architectural design elements and daylighting availability. Proper system installation and ongoing operation and maintenance are crucial. The economic aspects of the preceding points must also be considered for policy making.

Decentralization is becoming a dominant trend in many industries, and the electricity industry is no exception.Increasing numbers of energy consumers generate their own electricity and/or provide essential grid services such as storage, efficiency, and demand response.This Article offers a positive account of the emergence of these new energy actors, which it calls "energy prosumers."It then frames several doctrinal and procedural puzzles that prosumers create, including jurisdictional puzzles, distributional concerns, and democratic challenges.Ultimately, it concludes that prosumers can be a positive disruptive force in the electricity industry if courts and regulators can manage these challenges effectively.The Article suggests that increased prosumption not only helps further traditional energy law goals, but also is consistent with a modernized canon of energy law norms, including environmental protection and market competition.The Article concludes by outlining regulatory pathways to a prosumer future.It emphasizes the policy experimentation currently taking place and suggests conditions for, and core elements of, a more centralized, synoptic regulatory strategy.

Purpose This paper defines prosumers in light of the COVID-19 crisis and other contexts. It addresses how prosumers helped overcome challenges caused by COVID-19 and is the first paper to develop a taxonomy of prosumers, their differentiating characteristics and the degree to which they are useful in overcoming the challenges of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a literature search of the prosumer literature using the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Findings This study solves a definitional dilemma of prosumers and develops six prosumer archetypes displaying the nuances of prosumers. The study shows that the six prosumer archetypes vary in their usefulness in addressing challenges caused by COVID-19. The findings demonstrate the micro (individual), meso (organizational) and macro (societal) benefits offered by prosumers in times of crises. Research limitations/implications This study has some clear implications for the prosumer literature, the services literature and the crisis literature by clarifying the role of prosumers in times of crisis. Practical implications This paper offers several implications at the micro (individual), meso (organizational), and macro (societal) levels that are offered by prosumers in times of crises. The benefits of prosumers afford individuals, service practitioners and other organizations ways to remain resilient and strong in the face of significant crises such as COVID-19. Originality/value This paper makes three specific contributions. First, it contributes to the service literature by highlighting the role and value of prosumers in crises, an area currently under-researched. Secondly, it developed six prosumer archetypes displaying the nuances of prosumers, contributing to the prosumer literature by sharpening the focus of this versatile phenomenon and demonstrating the differential value of each type of prosumer in times of crises. Lastly, the study advances the prosumer literature by resolving the definitional dilemma of prosumers and by providing a broad, yet specific definition of prosumers that captures the different perspectives evident in the prosumer literature.