New white paper, developed with Schneider Electric, highlights the role of Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) in delivering whole-home energy solutions

Parks Associates released new research today at Innovation Summit North America, in partnership with Schneider Electric. The white paper, Orchestrating the Future of Home Energy Management, shows that 86% of US internet households want to use less energy and save more in the face of rising electricity costs. The research highlights how advances in Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are laying the foundation for energy savings and optimization.

“Consumers see the benefit of a cohesive ecosystem where security systems, appliances, HVAC units, and backup power solutions automatically coordinate their operations based on real-time energy demand, pricing, and availability,” said Jennifer Kent, Vice President, Research, Parks Associates.

Orchestrating the Future of Home Energy Management reports that consumers find simple routines that coordinate lights, HVAC controls, and appliances as appealing. However, the barrier to a more coordinated, automated energy-aware home is too high. In fact, of the 40% of smart home device owners in the US who do coordinate their products today, 39% had difficulty doing so.

“Home energy technology has come a long way in improving efficiency, but actually[EP1.1] realizing those gains remains challenging. With too many disparate sources of data, it’s difficult for consumers to better manage their home energy,” said Preeti Bajaj, Executive Vice President, Home Solutions, Schneider Electric. “This data underscores Schneider Electric’s mission to provide products and solutions that simplify home energy management is more essential than ever.”

HEMS can relieve the burden by making coordination more intuitive and even automated, helping users get more out of their connected devices, and create a more valuable asset for utilities.

Other data points highlighted in the research:

• 46% of internet households report a willingness to share energy data between devices to better optimize energy consumption.
• 61% of US internet households surveyed said their electricity costs are too high, with this rising to 66% for families of four and more.
• Energy optimization is the #2 driver for smart home device integration, behind only home security.
• 55% of apartment renters want to see energy usage information right in their resident app.
• 59% find whole-home battery backup during power outages appealing, and the same percentage find the ability to power critical electronics during a short power outage appealing.
• Just 56% of households reported receiving an energy consumption breakdown from their provider.

“As the energy transition to smart, electrified, and renewable systems accelerates, HEMS will serve as essential infrastructure — connecting utilities, devices, and consumers together to make the grid more flexible, efficient, and resilient,” Kent said.

This research is available for download. 

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com

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