E ON : Most Europeans agree that technology simplifies people's lives

Technology makes life easier. Not only 79 percent of Germans, but on average 87 percent of the people in eight European countries who took part in the representative 'Living in Europe' survey carried out by E.ON in cooperation with KantarEMNID share this opinion.

This is a clear trend compared with the previous year. While 33 percent of those surveyed across Europe in 2017 thought that technology made their lives more complicated, it was only 22 percent in 2018. The trend is driven above all by Sweden and the Czech Republic where compared with 2017 only half as many people said this year that the increasing use of technology was making life more complex.

What is surprising, however, is that in 2018 only 56 percent of respondents believe that technology has also been helpful in saving energy over the last ten years. That's 12 percent down from 2017. This trend is particularly stark in Turkey, where in 2017, 85 percent of the population saw a direct link between energy saving and technology, compared with only 61 percent in 2018. In Germany, too, fewer respondents were convinced this year that technology makes their lives more energy-efficient. Only 54 percent still see it this way, in 2017 it was 64 percent.

Technology cannot only make life easier, but it can also measurably reduce energy costs: for example, smart thermostats can save up to 30 percent on heating bills. The devices automatically adjust the user's feel-good temperature, take weather data into account and can be conveniently controlled via a mobile app from a smartphone or tablet. For more information, go to www.eon.de/plus