Shaping a Sustainable Society: How Information Systems Utilize Hidden Synergies between Green Technologies

In this paper we show how IS research can contribute to two major issues many societies face today – dealing with the decreasing availability of easily accessible fossil fuels and the threat of climate change. We introduce an IS artifact that uses historical data on energy consumption, energy generation, and mobility behavior to unleash synergies between residential photovoltaic panels and electric vehicles. Using real world data we show in simulations that our residential information system allows households to decrease annual net energy costs by up to 68 percent. This results in an earlier breakeven point of green technologies and clears a path towards a more sustainable society. Following up with an investment analysis we show that the information system has the same financial impact as the subsidy for plugin-hybrid electric vehicles by the U.S. federal government following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – at no cost to the taxpayer.