Consumers today expect real-time updates on everything from deliveries to home security, and increasingly, they want the same visibility for their energy usage. While utilities have long attempted to deliver energy consumption insights through online portals and monthly reports, adoption has lagged. Now, device makers are closing the gap with innovative “behind the meter” technologies that provide instant feedback, automation, and control. 

Energy monitoring tools ranging from simple smart plugs to advanced whole-home panels empower households to track, analyze, and optimize energy use with greater precision. Parks Associates has been tracking these devices, systems, utility programs and services since they were introduced to the market. 

Energy Monitoring as a Gateway to Broader Participation

Smart home technologies are emerging as a bridge between consumers and utilities, simplifying engagement with energy programs such as time-of-use pricing, rebates, and demand response programs. Consumers are actively seeking ways to reduce consumption, and many have already adopted simple actions like adjusting thermostats or shifting appliance use to off-peak hours. However, major investments such as solar panels and battery systems remain out of reach for many due to high interest rates and a sluggish housing market. 

This dynamic creates an opportunity for utilities, retailers, and smart home brands to focus on smaller, more affordable solutions such as energy monitoring devices that deliver immediate savings and enable deeper program participation.

Data: From Insight to Action

Modern energy monitoring devices provide granular, real-time data for individual devices, circuits, or entire homes. Sophisticated systems can detect abnormal power usage, diagnose mechanical problems, and alert users before they experience costly failures. These insights are transforming passive energy awareness into actionable intelligence. When paired with AI-driven analytics, monitoring data can automatically optimize energy consumption patterns, aligning usage with lower-cost or lower-demand periods. 

This automation is particularly powerful when integrated with demand response programs that reward users for reducing demand during peak hours, an increasingly important tool as grid reliability becomes a national concern.

Control: Enabling Smarter, Automated Energy Management

Beyond monitoring, many devices now offer direct control, allowing users or their connected systems to remotely turn equipment on or off. This function enables energy optimization across solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, and home batteries. Consumers’ openness to such automation is growing, with 46% willing to share energy data across devices to improve efficiency and 75% expressing interest in automatically charging batteries during off-peak hours.

These behaviors indicate a readiness for energy ecosystems that balance user comfort, cost, and environmental impact without requiring active intervention.

Energy Programs and the Path to Engagement

Despite their potential, utilities continue to struggle with consumer trust and engagement, reflected in a net promoter score of negative 25 compared to positive 24 for home security providers. However, data show that participation in energy programs including demand response, time-of-use pricing, and equipment rebates significantly improves perception of utilities. To build on this progress, utilities should offer immediate incentives and simplify enrollment through automated participation such as “opt-in by default” smart thermostat integrations. 

Partnering with smart home brands further enhances accessibility, allowing consumers to participate through the connected devices they already use daily.

Energy Security and Independence

Grid instability and growing electrification have made energy security a household priority. Nearly half of consumers express interest in electricity storage solutions, and bundled offerings that combine solar generation with battery storage are viewed as the pathway to energy independence. Portable batteries and smart panels are also gaining popularity, providing peace of mind during outages and flexibility for both homeowners and renters. 

Smart energy monitoring serves as the foundation for these solutions, ensuring users understand their consumption patterns and storage capacity in real time.

Industry Recommendations

• Utilities: Prioritize immediate, tangible incentives for program enrollment and strengthen engagement through automation and partnerships with smart home brands.
• Energy Providers: Expand time-of-use and demand response programs that integrate directly with connected devices, offering seamless control and real-time feedback.
• Smart Home and Storage Companies: Improve interoperability across platforms, promote AI-driven optimization, and highlight solar-plus-storage solutions for resilient, independent power.
• Overall Industry: Position energy monitoring as the cornerstone of reliability, resilience, and cost savings, emphasizing backup power and real-time transparency as key motivators for investment.

In essence, energy monitoring about delivering real-time actionable insights, automated control, and a seamless bridge to energy programs that improve both efficiency and satisfaction. As affordability and reliability shape the next wave of adoption, the convergence of monitoring, automation, and storage are defining how consumers interact with energy in their connected homes.

This research Smarter Energy at Home: Intelligence, Coordination, Services is available for purchase and explores US households' engagement with smart energy solutions and programs. It examines familiarity, adoption, and satisfaction with energy-efficient equipment and programs, including EV charging, solar and demand response. The survey assesses consumers' attitudes toward managing energy usage through smart devices, AI and services, to identify barriers and motivators for adopting energy innovations.

Join us at the Smart Energy Summit 2026, co-located with DistribuTECH, where industry leaders, innovators, and utility experts will converge to explore cutting-edge strategies for consumer engagement, grid resilience, and smart home integration. Don’t miss this opportunity to network, gain actionable insights, and help shape the future of energy — join us and be part of the transformation.