The third prominent force holding P2P Energy back is the ease of use of the technology as it is today. What is the Facebook equivalent for Blockchain? And not a social network on Blockchain, but the one application that helps bring blockchain mainstream? We are looking for a Killer App, or Killer dApp, for Blockchain. Could P2P Energy fill this role?
A Killer dApp
Any new technology is looking for its Killer App. A Facebook of the latest technology if you will. With a Killer App, the technology propels itself to mainstream and exponential growth. Everybody suddenly ‘understands’ the added value; there are no barriers to entry anymore. The Killer App gets used and copied by others trying to emulate its success.
For Blockchain this quest is still on, Blockchain is looking for its Killer dApp (to stick with its decentralised nature). There are some good and cleaver examples out there, some more being build. But the true Killer dApp is not among us yet. P2P Energy being the most prominently mentioned could be the one. So why wait?
Plug and Play
Today’s consumers expect a frictionless experience. Their gadgets are supposed to be Plug and Play. Their services should almost run on autopilot as much as possible. The tech industry focusses on removing friction from every aspect of our lives.
Present-day power consumers get a contract with a supplier on their address. They fill in some details for payments and processing, and from that moment, the data from their smart meter feeds the billing engine of the supplier. Pretty frictionless already; this is the standard to beat.
When you would introduce a P2P Energy system, the consumer would have to do nothing extra beyond applying or registering. Perhaps the blockchain node is pre-installed in the metering cabinet, or maybe it can suffice to plug in a small device hooked up to the smart meter. Anything beyond that results in more friction than our current system. Plug and Play, or easier is what we need to target.
Ease of Use
When looking at Blockchain technology in general, mostly it is used by the geeks and techies. They know how to set up a full node; for example, they have the patience to go through user interfaces that are sometimes puzzling at best.
The average user can not be bothered by installing a full node first, making sure the latest version is up and running and connecting the node to the network. Setting up a node has been a horrible experience since the early days of Bitcoin, though concepts such as Casa node have greatly improved here. A similar thing would have to happen for P2P Energy as well. The less friction, the better.
True enough, in the past few years, we have come a long way, and a lot of the software has been quicker to set up than it was ten years ago. But for an energy system, the current state of tech is still quite a hurdle and far from Plug and Play yet.
Killer dApps: Waiting, or ‘BUIDLing’?
Finding the Killer dApp will help Blockchain go mainstream. In which field it is, is unsure yet, it is possible with P2P Energy, though other areas are also making significant progress. With the spread of current implementations, we are bound to find at least one. One case where the application of Blockchain truly propels its use towards mainstream. Should you wait for it to happen, or do you want me to help you create this future?
