Household appliances (heating and cooling systems, refrigerators, electronics, hair dryers) account for 60 to 90 percent of the residential electricity consumption in the U.S., depending on whose reports you read. More and more of those appliances are becoming “grid-aware” and gaining the ability to monitor and report their own usage and to increase or decrease their electricity usage by remote command.
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The home energy management market keeps trying to get more grab, but a number of factors are getting in the way, things like consumer indifference, lack of concrete standards and too many vendors, says a new report from Pike Research. We think Pike is on the money, but have additional thoughts on why consumers aren't biting.
The U.S. Energy Department's Apps for Energy competition kicked off last week. DOE is offering $100,000 in prizes to software developers for the best new apps that help utility customers make the most out of their Green Button electricity usage data.
For utilities planning pilots in home energy management and related areas, they aren't going to get a lot of help at this point from off-the-shelf products. Instead, teamwork will be the name of the game for the immediate future, says IDC Energy Insights. Find out why.
A new Harris poll says almost half of the people surveyed would likely use a computerized dashboard to control their energy use and save money, but SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst is far from convinced. Read the story to find out why.
This IDC Energy Insights report provides analysis of the home energy management (HEM) technology stack based on our interviews with utility decision makers including chief information officers (CIOs) and solution providers. Many utilities are somewhere on the continuum of piloting programs such as demand response, load control, energy efficiency, and customer education; all of them could involve home energy management.
We've long speculated that third parties could disintermediate utilities - could get between them and their customers and siphon off part of the profits. Comcast's announcement that it will offer customers a "learning thermostat" supplied by EcoFactor gets that ball rolling.
Results from a large-scale research project reveal what many of us have been worrying about for years. Simply giving people feedback about their energy use isn't enough to create great efficiency. Click for what we think is a better approach.
This video from Siemens highlights its homeConnect, a mobile user interface that allows full control over household appliances at a glance and explains that the full potential of such smart devices can only be harnessed in combination with smart grid technologies.
The Internet's power will allow management of the home in ways that save energy and money automatically in its next stage of development, according to a pioneer in the online world. Click to read Peter Gardett's interview with AlertMe CEO Mary Turner.
A UK-based smart home technology startup is making its first commercial launch in the U.S. in partnership with retail giant Lowe's. AlertMe gear is sleek and sexy and Lowe's has big plans for the new service it will offer on the AlertMe platform. But will consumers buy retail - or hold out for a utility subsidy?
Tendril is sweetening the pot in its efforts to entice developers to come up with third-party applications for the smart grid and smart home on its cloud-based platform. Click to learn about Tendril's new web site for app developers and its contest featuring $5,000 in prize money.
When it comes to energy efficiency, a Scrooge-like mindset can be a good thing. That's why we called on our penny-pinching but gadget-loving Technical Director for a few of his kilowatt-reducing gift suggestions from the Smart Grid News store.
Snow storms, power outages, rate hikes… isn't there a better way? That's what Carl Ford contemplates in his call for a smart grid application for the home that's smarter than anything he's seen so far.
Communications provider Trilliant today announced a new platform and new partnerships aimed at smoothing the path to demand response (DR) and home energy management (HEM). The announcement has a lot to say about the state of HEM today (chaotic). And about how Trilliant differentiates itself from rivals such as Silver Spring Networks. SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst has details inside.
Why have we embedded sensors, monitors and digital intelligence into virtually every piece of the electricity value chain... except the load panel? SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst is trying to figure that one out. But in the meantime, his latest Discovery Showcase feature introduces an Israeli company that has what looks to be a promising solution. Learn all about it inside.
The energy efficiency battle has a new ally, courtesy of a Silicon Valley startup that boasts alums from Apple, Google and other tech notables. And don't dismiss their Nest Learning Thermostat as just another smart thermostat. You'd expect more from creators of the iPod, right?
Austin's innovative Pecan Street Project is bringing the smart grid home … literally. Pecan Street Inc. is teaming with some industry heavyweights to work on a consumer-focused smart grid built around home apps and consumer electronics. It could be just what the smart grid doctor ordered – a way to get consumers excited about smart grid technologies. Click inside and see if you agree.
Are you wrestling with tough control system and substation automation problems? Need a smarter way to track field assets? Want a fast solution for analyzing day-two smart grid implementation benefits? Our latest product roundup may help; click inside for seven new smart grid solutions on the market now (or on the way soon).
The news that Honeywell and Opower are joining forces to develop energy management tools to help consumers reduce their energy consumption and save money should put other players in the crowded home energy management space on notice. Find out why inside.
On the island of Jeju, South Korea, 2,000 homes are currently hooked up to a smart grid pilot that's changing the way electricity is supplied. See this project close up in this Al Jazeera video.
A smarter energy cloud hovering over Dubuque, Iowa. Picture frame nostalgia from a London designer. And algorithms that can identify appliance-specific data signatures. Believe it or not, all three are concepts emerging on the home energy management front. Learn more inside.
While in California recently, Carl Ford sat down with Intel spin-off GainSpan to hear their story of low-power consumption WiFi solutions. He expects to see some of them creeping into our homes and garages soon. Learn more inside.
The HomePlug Powerline Alliance has high praise for the first standard for hybrid home networks. The organization says the standard would not only give consumers with home area networks increased reliability and flexibility, it also would cut installation and support costs for service providers.
Opower has announced that it is well on its way to meeting a goal of helping U.S. consumers save one terawatt of energy by the end of 2012, an amount equal to taking 100,000 homes off the electric grid for a year. Read the story for more on the home energy management software company's ambitious energy savings goal.
We’re here with another slate of new or updated smart grid technologies we think you'll want to know about – from a real-life V2G technology to a home energy management system that looks like it belongs in outer space. And if grid optimization or smart grid security is on your radar, we've highlighted new developments there too. Click inside for details.
Three new demonstration projects caught our attention - a smart grid effort in Albuquerque's business district, a rapid recovery transformer study in Texas and a trial involving low voltage current sensor technologies in the UK. They also got us to thinking: At this stage in the smart grid build out, if you could design a demonstration project, what would it entail? That's our latest Tuesday Topic; click for the details.
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