Smart meter awareness in Italy, AnconaSmart meter awareness in Italy, Ancona Δημοσίευση σε Συνέδριο Conference Publication 2023-07-072019enThis work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 645677.Smart meters, one of the crucial enablers of the smart-grid concept and cornerstones in smart planning for cities, offer the opportunity for consumers to address their energy consumption effectively through timely and accurate data on their energy usage. However, previous studies have shown that smart meters may not lead to the desired energy savings unless actively used by households. To this end, the research presented in this paper investigates the penetration of smart meters at community level and explores how such a metering system can help people to understand and manage their energy use better. It examines the awareness about smart meters, looks into their presence in current accommodation and focuses on the views people have about smart meters. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared and distributed to a group of individuals residing in the wide area of Ancona province in Italy. Although the deployment of modern second-generation smart meters started in 2017 replacing the outdated smart meters massively installed in the 2000s, the results show low-to-moderate levels of awareness of modern smart meters among the respondents and a low presence of second-generation metering devices in their current accommodation. However, the general view expressed by the participants about smart meters is positive. The findings demonstrate that respondents are in need not only of a gauge that measures energy consumption but also of a tool that assists them to manage effectively their energy use.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/47–663rd International conference on Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and RegionsSmart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and RegionsNtouros_et_al_SSPCR 2019_2021.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2023-07-07application/pdf771.7 kBfree Ntouros Vasileios Senzacqua Martina Karlessi Theoni Kampelis Nikolaos Καμπελης Νικολαος Assimakopoulos Margarita-Niki Kolokotsa Dionysia Κολοκοτσα Διονυσια Cristalli Cristina Springer Smart meters Residential sector Energy consumption Energy usage