Neighbor Rank
The neighbor rank compares a customer's energy use to that of approximately 100 neighbors with similar homes, and then displays the customer’s numerical rank out of those neighbors based on how much energy they used during the last peak event. The goal is to persuade customers to improve their ranking by using less energy during subsequent peak days.
Note: Only electricity customers can receive the Neighbor Rank experience. See Customer Experience Variations for more information.
On this page:
Pre-Event Email
After a peak event's occurrence, the Neighbor Rank module shows the customer's rank from the previous peak event. Customers can see how much energy they used and how their usage ranked against that of approximately 100 neighbors who also participated in the event. When not following a peak event, the neighbor rank includes a generic bar chart that poses a question to customers to entice them to participate in the upcoming peak event.
The following is an example of a pre-event email sent after a hot-weather peak event. The same format applies to cold-weather events.
The following are descriptions of pre-event customer rank graphic:
- Insight: Above the leaderboard is an insight statement that highlights the customer's rank in relation to their neighbors.
- Rank Chart: The rank chart displays four different rank spaces. The customer rank and the most efficient user always occupy two of the spaces. The final spaces orient the customer to where they fall within the neighbor ranking. The bars are color-coded to increase readability. The customer's current rank is highlighted in the "You" color. All other ranks are colored gray.
- Energy Amount: The amount of energy for each ranking space is displayed. Energy usage is calculated based off of the customer's usage.
- Efficiency Bar: A visual bar appears in each ranking space. This bar is a visual scale of how much energy is used for each ranking. The customer's bar is highlighted in the "You" color. The other efficiency bars are colored gray. The size of the bar indicates efficiency. The smaller the bar is, the more energy efficient is that specific ranking space.
- Last Peak Day: The date and time of the most recent peak event. The module only displays information about the most recent peak event.
- Neighbor Description: The neighbor description appears below the bar chart. By default, it includes a statement about how the neighbor rank is calculated and information about who their neighbors are.
Post-Event Email
After the peak event is over, the module displays the customer's rank for the most recent event. The neighbor rank shows how the customer's usage compares to that of approximately 100 neighbors who also participated in the event.
The following image is an example of the customer's rank in the post-event email during the summer. You can also use this to illustrate the customer's rank during peak events in the winter.
The following are descriptions of post-event customer rank graphic:
- Insight: An insight statement that highlights the customer's rank in relation to their neighbors.
- Rank Chart: The rank chart displays five different rank spaces. The customer rank and the most efficient user always use two of the available spaces. The final spaces orient the customer to where they fall within the neighbor comparison. The bars are color-coded to increase readability. The customer's current rank is highlighted in the "You" color. The orienting spaces are colored gray.
- Energy Amount: The amount of energy for each ranking space is displayed. Energy usage is calculated based off of the customer's usage.
- Efficiency Bar: A visual bar appears in each ranking space. This bar is a visual scale of how much energy is used for each ranking. The customer's bar is highlighted in the "You" color. The other efficiency bars are colored gray. The size of the bar indicates efficiency. The smaller the bar is, the more energy efficient is that specific ranking space.
- Last Peak Day: The date and time of the most recent peak event. The module only displays information about the most recent peak event.
- Neighbor Description: The neighbor description appears below the bar chart. By default, it includes a statement about how the neighbor rank is calculated and information about who their neighbors are.
Peak Events Close Together
If peak events take place close to one another (within approximately 2-3 days of each other, for example), or if an insight was not generated during the last peak event for some reason (usually due to missing data for the customer), then the customer will receive a communication with a generic placeholder graphic containing mock data. This communication will look the same as the first pre-event communication of the season.
For example, let's say a peak event is scheduled for a Monday and then another is scheduled two days later on a Wednesday. If there was not enough time to receive AMI data from the event on Monday, then the pre-event communication for Wednesday will not specify how the customer performed. Instead, a static bar chart will be shown.