WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today at Smart Cities Week, Silver Spring Networks, Inc. (NYSE: SSNI) and Power Over Energy unveiled the findings from their Smart Cities Consumer Research Study, conducted with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Advanced Grid Research. More than 500 U.S. consumers took part in the online study.
Respondents were representative of the U.S. Census, ranging from ages 18 to 65+ (52% female, 48% male), and from all areas of the country including New England, Mid Atlantic, Mountain, Pacific, South East, and various areas of the central U.S. A majority of respondents (47%) lived in cities with populations of more than 100,000, 14% of which currently reside in major metropolitan areas of more than one million people.
The study uncovered some surprising results, the most intriguing of which include:
- When educated about the benefits of smart cities, 75% of respondents think smart city technology would have a positive impact on their lives, with only 3% stating they believe smart city technology would have a negative impact.
- 65% of participants are interested in living with smart city technology.
- Positive sentiment for smart cities is highest among millennials (83%) vs. those in 65+ age group (60%).
- 50% of participants expect smart city technology to directly impact their daily life within the next 0 to 3 years.
- Smart street lights are the most well-known smart city application; public safety is considered the most important benefit of smart street lights.
- Reducing pollution and improvements to public safety were considered the top two benefits, respectively, of smart city technology.
“In speaking with city leaders across the globe, we have found that understanding the needs and wants of their citizens around smart city technology is of utmost importance. Our findings will help bolster the efforts that cities and utilities are championing, such as smart street lights—the most well-known smart city application—and reducing pollution and public safety, identified as the top two benefits of smart city technology in the study,” said Dan Evans, Senior Director – Smart Cities and Street Lighting, Silver Spring Networks. “Energy and city leaders in Chicago, Florida, Copenhagen, Paris, and London have paved the way for smart city applications through their prescient street lighting programs connected through Silver Spring’s secure, scalable, reliable and standards-based IoT platform.”
“What we found most interesting about the study is the younger generation’s desire to live in smart cities,” said Marina Donovan, Vice President of Marketing, Silver Spring Networks. “Adoption rates of smart city technologies are quickly on the rise and the next big wave is upon us. There is clearly a need, and opportunity, to educate consumers of all age groups about the benefits and positive impacts of smart city technology. Together, Silver Spring Networks and Power Over Energy, will continue to make a concerted effort to educate citizens globally about the benefits that smart cities have to offer.”
In addition to unveiling its study findings, Silver Spring will be hosting a live Tweetchat on the topic of smart cities on Wednesday, October 4, beginning at 12:00pm ET. People are encouraged to participate in the Tweetchat by submitting questions and sharing commentary live by following the #SCWDC, #SmartCitiesWeek, and #SSNIchat hashtags, as well as @mentioning the Silver Spring @silverspringnet Twitter handle. The chat will be moderated by Teena Maddox, Senior Writer at TechRepublic (@teena_maddox) and will include participants from:
- Power Over Energy (@poweroverenergy): Steve Decker
- Silver Spring Networks (@silverspringnet): Dan Evans, Marina Donovan and VP of Product, John Marcolini; and
- Wi-SUN Alliance: Chairman, Phil Beecher (@WiSunAlliance)
Silver Spring is a proven leader for smart cities and IoT globally, with smart street lighting programs with top North American and Caribbean utilities including Baltimore Gas & Electric, ComEd, Jamaica Public Service Company, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Pepco Holdings Inc., and Florida Power and Light Company for what is believed to be the largest connected street lighting project in the world. Silver Spring also connects critical infrastructure devices for smart city solution in cities such as Bristol, Copenhagen, Dubai, Glasgow, Halifax, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Washington D.C., among others.
To download the study results, visit www.ssni.com/smartcitystudy.
To download an infographic highlighting the study results, visit www.ssni.com/smartcityinfographic.
About Silver Spring Networks
Silver Spring Networks enables the Internet of Important Things™ by reliably and securely connecting things that matter. Cities, utilities, and companies on five continents use the company’s cost-effective, high-performance IoT network and data platform to operate more efficiently, get greener, and enable innovative services that can improve the lives of millions of people. With more than 26.7 million devices delivered, Silver Spring provides a proven standards-based platform safeguarded with military grade security. Silver Spring Networks’ customers include Baltimore Gas & Electric, CitiPower & Powercor, ComEd, Consolidated Edison, CPS Energy, Florida Power & Light, Pacific Gas & Electric, Pepco Holdings, and Singapore Power. Silver Spring has also deployed networks in Smart Cities including Copenhagen, Glasgow, Paris, Providence, and Stockholm. To learn more, visit www.ssni.com.
About Power Over Energy
Power Over Energy is a social media energy literacy initiative backed by a coalition of business, nonprofit and government groups who want to increase awareness about the impact of our current energy consumption and the benefits of energy efficiency, modernizing the electricity grid and deploying smart city technologies. Members of the coalition include the Clean Coalition, the Environmental Defense Fund, Global Green U.S.A., Green Ninja, the GridWise Alliance, The Institute for Electric Innovation, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Silver Spring Networks, the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative, Sustainable Silicon Valley, and the U.S. Department of Energy. To learn more, visit poweroverenergy.org.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about Silver Spring Networks’ expectations, plans, intentions, and strategies, including, but not limited to statements regarding the benefits of Silver Spring’s smart city solutions, and smart city technology generally. Statements including words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or “future” and statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include those described in Silver Spring Networks’ documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Silver Spring Networks as of the date hereof. Silver Spring Networks assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.