S3C Toolkit

Design

In the design phase of a product or project the project management has to make important decisions about how to organise interaction with users and with other relevant stakeholders. 

Choosing and combining monetary and non-monetary incentives - Which incentives can be applied to influence people's energy behaviour? This guideline offers a (non-exhaustive) overview of theoretical backgrounds, differentiating characteristics of different types of incentives and hints for their implementation during different project stages.

Choosing from different types of monetary incentives - This is a sub-guideline to the main guideline that looks into the choice of and combination options for monetary- and non-monetary incentive. This sub-guideline contains an overview of the different types monetary incentives that can trigger motivation in customers.

Choosing from different types of non-monetary incentives - This is a sub-guideline to the main guideline that looks into options for monetary- and non-monetary incentives. The guideline contains an overview of the different types non-monetary incentives that can trigger motivation in customers.

Designing a dynamic tariff - Dynamic pricing schemes aim to motivate consumers to shift and/or decrease their energy use. This guideline gives insights on the design aspects of these pricing schemes and some key lessons based on current experiences. Moreover, an overview is given of the different tariff types which are being tested today.

ENact 2020 – exchanging know-how in a multi-stakeholder workshop - ENact 2020 is a workshop format tool that aims to bring together stakeholders to gather views and ideas from different perspectives. It can be applied before implementation, or it can support the (re)design of a project.

Introducing demand side management to SMEs - How can aggregators and energy companies approach small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and engage them into the demand response (peak levelling and electrical energy adaptation) programmes? The tool Questionnaire for engaging SMEs can support you in this process.

Innovative product development - This guideline and its four corresponding checklist tools support internal processes within utilities when developing well-aligned smart energy product and service innovations: Customer checklist, Cooperation checklist, Marketing strategy checklist, and Product checklist. 

Predicting effects of renewable energy integration - This guideline presents a five-step guide to determine the (technical, economic, environmental, etc.) effects of the integration of renewable energy on the current energy system. 

How to estimate your load shifting potential - How to make a rough estimation of the consumer potential for peak levelling savings and electricity energy shift from limited input data? The associated MS Excel tool Peak reduction and energy shift calculation is intended for demand response service providers. It is recommended to have a general knowledge of peak levelling.

Postcard from the future workshop method - A tool for project staff members, workshop organisers and product developers to gather out-of-the-box ideas. The postcard method provides a window into the mind of consumers that is minimally constrained by socially desirable answers.

Questionnaire for engaging SMEs - This tool comprises a standardized questionnaire for service providers to identify potential small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for participation in demand response programs. It requires background knowledge from the field of energy.

Strategy finder for tariffs and incentives - With this information compiler tool you can organise what information about tariffs, monetary and non-monetary incentives you want to collect and print as PDF, similarly to the Create your personal notebook tool. It allows you to get an easy overview of what tariffs and incentives you can use for more efficient consumer behaviour changes. 

Smart Energy Quiz - An interactive quiz module that conveys knowledge about energy efficiency and energy related topics in a playful manner. This tool allows utilities to present themselves to their customers as a responsible supplier and to learn more about their customers’ energy behaviour. To try the Smart Energy Quiz tool, click here.

Using flexibility manually or automatically - Although no strict rules apply on how to choose one over another, different types of flexibility generally suits certain applications and target groups better than others. This guideline is aimed at those looking for ways to help consumers shift their energy consumption, such as project managers, product developers and utilities.

Using segmentation to better target user groups - To better understand customer diversity, consumers can be divided into into subsets of users with common lifestyles, preferences or needs. The guideline sketches an overview of the different application areas of segmentation and it provides a birds-eye view of the steps to be taken. The accompanying toot User group segmentation (light) can help you to get acquainted with the approach. It is a simple and highly accessible tool to gain hands-on experience with segmentation, consisting of a short survey implemented in the associated MS Excel spreadsheet.