Peer-reviewed paper – Self-consumption rises due to energy crises? An evaluation of prosumers’ consumption behavior in 2022

Prosumers with photovoltaic systems can reduce their electricity expenses by increasing their consumption of self-generated electricity. This makes them more resilient to price shocks, like the 2022 European energy crisis.

Authors evaluate how prosumers adapt their consumption behaviour in response to such political uncertainty and increasing electricity prices. The collected survey and smart meter data allow authors to evaluate the perceived self-reported and measured impact on self-consumption. Saving intentions due to the energy crisis are more clearly displayed by the survey than by the measured self-consumption.

While solar radiation predominantly explains self-consumption changes, Google searches on electricity-related topics have limited explanatory power. However, considering time lags and the interaction with solar radiation leads to more nuanced insights on the effect of Google searches.

Depending on the level of solar radiation, the effect of Google searches ranges from decreasing the daily self-consumption by 26.45 Wh to increasing it by 69.45 Wh.

S. Pelka et al., “Self-consumption rises due to energy crises? An evaluation of prosumers’ consumption behavior in 2022,” 2023 19th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), Lappeenranta, Finland, 2023, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/EEM58374.2023.10161968.