Articles by Therese Peffer

Therese Peffer is a Research Coordinator for the California Institute for Energy and Environment’s Enabling Technologies program. She works on Demand Response, Smart Grid and "Building-to-Grid" research projects. She holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

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]