SmartHomes - a 2008 prediction

Confirmed from several sources, the next big thing in energy is indeed going to be home area networks. That is, remotely control and pre-program your thermostat and other appliances for convenience, cool factor, and of course, optimal energy usage and cost savings.

Although I'm spending an inordinate portion of my waking hours developing tools to display near-real-time energy usage for residential customers online, this sort of display is just the first step towards enabling in-your-face transparency of energy usage and cost.

Smart homes have been the thing of the future for many years, but now low cost, low bandwidth radio devices in combination with IP devices and a focus on standardization and interoperability, the time has come.

Utility regulators seeking ways to assuage consumers concern over rising and increasingly complex electric rates are mandating in-home displays that tell you how much energy you're using, and how much you're spending for that power in every new home.

Some studies show that when people have their energy spend blinking on a wall in their home, they reduce usage by 5 - 15%. On the other hand, when some people realize that electricity costs a whole lot less than their commute to work each day, it can have the opposite effect among some of the less price sensitive consumers.

We'll see this first in the UK (where I saw a very funny headline, subject of another blog) , Australia, followed by California. The companies/devices to watch - Comverge thermostats, Aztech, Ampy eco-meter, and no doubt a whole bunch of emerging new entrants.

ssp: Itron's OpenWay meters will include ZigBee radio chips to enable communication between the electric utility and the home thermostat and other devices. This way the utility can selectively turn down the ac for a short period of time in people's homes rather than suffer blackouts when there's not enough power to go around.