A recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy has shown that households will reduce their electricity usage when given accurate, real-time information about their energy consumption and costs. The results of the year-long study were announced on Wednesday.

The 112 homeowners who participated received new electric meters, thermostats, water heaters and dryers that could be customized to operate at desired levels of comfort and cost. During peak periods, when electricity is most expensive, software automatically lowered thermostats or shut off the heating element of water heaters.

Participants saved about 10 percent of their electricity bills and reduced peak energy consumption by as much as 50 percent during the course of the project.

“We’re not talking about traditional demand response where consumers have little or no control,” said program manager Rob Pratt. “We’re talking about putting the power into the hands of the consumers, who can customize their energy use to save money or maximize comfort.”

The results are good news for companies developing “smart grid” technologies, like San Francisco-based Optimal Technologies, whose products help appliances and buildings communicate with the grid.

Proponents of demand response, like Boston-based EnerNOC, which helps large consumers reduce their power usage and costs during peak periods, also should be happy. The study shows that households—and not just large industrial or commercial sites—would be responsive to changes in electricity pricing if they were given the right information and tools.

But today there is little incentive at the single-family home level to do demand response because consumers don’t have the information available to make these judgments and utilities don’t offer pricing structures based on the time of day power is consumed.

The other major hurdle is the cost of installing these technologies. While energy conservation is good for society, it’s unlikely that many people will spend the money for these technologies if the savings don’t exceed the costs. The DOE study appeared to gloss over that untidy quirk, and participants—all of whom were given the necessary equipment—were saving money from the get go.

The name of the study is the Pacific Northwest GridWise Demonstration Project. Participants received constantly updated pricing information via the Internet. The ability to connect their homes with energy providers as well as the grid was made possible through IBM technology.