Home Energy Management: Products & Trends

Home Energy Management (HEM) describes a class of technologies including sensors, smart thermostats, and feedback devices seeking to manage residential energy consumption profiles to reduce peak electric demand and consumers’ electric bills. A growing number of HEM products and companies have emerged over the past decade, ranging from basic energy displays to whole-home control systems and smart phone apps. The great diversity of HEM product features and types is indicative of the nascent state of the HEM industry. Despite research showing that HEM products providing feedback on electricity consumption can reduce household electricity consumption by 4 to 12%, these products still face relatively low market penetration. We discuss some of the challenges facing the industry, including barriers to consumer adoption. We further present a taxonomy for residential HEM products with three basic categories: Control Devices, User Interfaces, and Enabling Technologies. This taxonomy provides a framework for future discussion about what areas of HEM have the most potential to result in widespread deployment, consumer engagement, and energy savings in the future.