Articles by Alan Meier

Alan Meier is a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Faculty Researcher at UC Davis. He earned his PhD in Energy & Resources from UC Berkeley after completing degrees in chemistry and economics. Meier's research includes technical measures to reduce standby power use in appliances, improving usability in controls, and policies to save electricity.

Making Energy Savings Easier: Usability Metrics for Thermostats

Abstract U.S. residential thermostats control approximately 9% of the nation’s energy use. Many building codes now require programmable thermostats (PTs) because of their assumed energy savings. However, several recent field studies have shown no significant savings or even higher energy use in households using PTs compared to those using non-PTs. These studies point to usability […] [Read More]