Creating Value From Energy Data: A Practitioner’s Perspective on Data-Driven Smart Energy Business Models

Along the energy value chain where produced energy is delivered for consumption within individual households, physical devices are being replaced by smart and connected products referred to as the Internet of Things. These smart products generate large volumes of data that can enable new data-driven business models. In the energy sector, consumers produce data by consuming energy, which is monitored and controlled by different smart energy products like microgeneration units or home automation devices. Although smart energy business models have been subject to academic research, the business value of data, which is created from smart energy products, remains unclear. Against this background, the paper presents a practitioners’ perspective on the data-driven potential of smart energy technologies for new business models, the constituting elements of these business models, and the challenges associated with their implementation. By doing this, we provide trajectories for the future of the energy industry and draw guiding implications for developing data-driven smart energy business models.