Trilliant partners up to kick-start lagging home energy management market

Page 2 >> By Jesse Berst   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.

The announcement pairs up Trilliant's communications and networking tools with pre-certified hardware from 16 HEM companies. Included are leaders such as Ambient, Digi International, Energate and Tendril, along with a bevy of "me-too" companies. Just reading through the list is a reminder of how overcrowded this sector is, with dozens of companies making pretty much the same things.

A category in need of a shake-out

Couple this with the fact that HEM is only going on in 1% of North American homes (even though 25% of North American homes now have smart meters). This is a category in need of a shakeout.

In the early days, many of the HEM providers tried a vertical approach, selling devices AND home energy software AND utility software. Now many are backing away from that strategy and trying their luck in a mix-and-match world instead.

We predict a rocky road for many of them, especially those focused on in-home displays. We believe the future home energy management console is likely to be a smart phone, a smart tablet, or smart TV, not a separate standalone device.