Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

“Since the 1980s, energy efficiency has been one of the key drivers of home automation, which is what it was called back then,” said Elizabeth Parks, president and CMO at research group Parks Associates. “It was a systems play where the major players were developing main control systems with HVAC, and the thermostats and controls back then weren’t connected to an app, but had controls on them.”

“All the other devices have been a slow evolution,” Parks said. “There isn’t and hasn’t been breakthrough technology. If you look back five years, purchase rates were low and there was high adoption, but now there aren't a lot of replacements or updates. There aren’t a lot of people buying smart thermostats, which creates a slow and steady build.”

“We think that microgrids and virtual power plants will play into consumer activity by individual homes connected with energy storage,” she added. “In some places, they are already doing it. For example, Southern Company is working on the orchestration of the grid, and it trickles into the individual household with the connected devices. It’s the bridge to make the grid work in a new way.”

“Lots of good things will be happening in the future,” Parks said. “It’s a slow and steady market, but it will grow through the services side. Home services will help connect with service providers and mean different ecosystem players come together in different ways in partnerships to play off of one another in the name of energy efficiency.”

Parks Associates is currently working on research on energy specific services that will be growing in the future and already sees that HVAC tune up service is growing by 11%, where 12M households will pay an annual fee to check systems. 

“There are growing opportunities for different channels,” she continued. “Energy safety and security are key drivers for this growth, like HVAC and AI software. The big problem will be the data centers. It’s so big that there will be a focus on that and how to reduce energy use there to create more in other places.”

From the article, "The Transformation of Making, Storing, and Keeping Energy Reliable" by  Jennifer Castenson

Previously In The News

Ranking The Most Popular Sports OTT Networks

NFL Game Pass is the most popular sports OTT video service in the U.S., according to Parks Associates, although at this point sports video services are still a relatively niche market. Overall, jus...

No. 1 reason we buy smart devices? They promise convenience

Smart locks and smart lights you control from your phone promise to make your life easier — and that's why most people buy them: to simplify their daily tasks. Nearly half of all consumers who purchas...

Irdeto Makes Big Gains In US Cable With Keys And Credentials Solution

“Flexible content security solutions that can adapt to nearly any delivery environment will be key to protecting content while allowing delivery through different networks, services and devices,” said...

Amazon is driving more transaction-based revenue for TV networks and studios

Meanwhile, Amazon’s Fire TV stick, which competes with Apple TV and Roku as one of the top connected TV devices, also continues to gain market share, which has likely helped drive more people to watch...