Understanding social acceptance of demand-side flexibility - lessons from a decade of global research (2015–2025)

This article presents a systematic review of social acceptance of demand-side flexibility (DSF) across OECD countries, synthesising evidence from 136 empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025 and covering five key areas: dynamic pricing, manual load-shifting, automation and direct load control, smart charging, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G). Across the literature, three findings stand out. First, there is a persistent mismatch between the active consumer envisioned in policy frameworks and the passive, convenience-oriented role most households ascribe to themselves. Even when fully informed, most people are reluctant to accept dynamic pricing and consistently prefer fixed, predictable pricing structures. They are also unwilling to reorganise routines around fluctuating prices, with load-shifting largely limited to laundry and dishwashing. Second, automation and load control are often viewed more favourably by households than dynamic pricing, despite many policymakers treating the latter as a prerequisite for the former. Results vary across contexts, but households are often open to load control with acceptance shaped far more by safeguards for comfort and override rights than by the size of financial rewards. Third, EV owners are generally open to smart charging and are more responsive to financial incentives, whereas V2G acceptance remains constrained by concerns over range and battery degradation. The findings suggest that policymakers should explore alternative pathways for delivering flexibility that better align with people's preferences.