Abstract: A residential home characteristics inferring method and system that receives information about energy usage by an energy user, determines using a processor and the received information about energy usage average daily usage during a heating season and average daily usage during a shoulder season, and identifies the fuel type used for heating by the energy user using the determined average daily usage during the heating season and the determined average daily usage during the shoulder season.

Abstract: Techniques for providing personalized energy use information are described herein. An energy information system can obtain one or more of demographic, psychographic, behavioral, or consumption data for each of a plurality of utility customers, and segment the plurality of utility customers into a plurality of categories based on the demographic, psychographic, behavioral, or consumption data. The energy information system can select a target category from the plurality of categories based on a predetermined achievement goal and generate communications content based on historic energy consumption data for the target category. The energy information system can select an outbound communication channel for communicating with the target category. The energy information system can deliver one or more communications to the target category through the outbound communication channel at a specified time, where the one or more communications include at least a portion of the communications content.