Social Acceptance of Smart Energy Systems

Through the developments of the technology, new implementations from security to education have taken place in every field of the life. Smart grid is one of the innovations of this development. The main concepts of smart grids are active participation of the energy consumers, energy efficiency, decrease of carbon and CO2 emissions, and providing energy from the renewable sources. In this study, smart concept is identified firstly. Its difference between the traditional grids was given in the first part. The second part includes the implementation of the smart grids in the electricity system. Third part of the study gives information about the components of the smart grids. These components are smart generation, smart stations, smart distribution, smart meters, integrated communication, and advanced control methods. The benefits of the smart grids for the energy consumers take part in the fourth part. Smart grid concept in European Union and in the United States and smart grid examples of different countries create the fifth part. In this context, the implementations in Malta, Germany, Italy, the United States, and China were given as samples. The last part of the study is about the impacts of the smart systems on the consumption behavior. In this framework, the enablers and barriers for social acceptance of the energy consumers are evaluated.