Smart Home Energy Management and Monitoring

Energy consumption management and monitoring are one of the most successful and promising applications of IoT and big data technology for the consumer markets. Home energy monitoring systems adopted by households, utility companies and energy suppliers already provide substantial benefits to the users from the economic, social and environmental points of view.

In this article, we’ll outline how exactly households benefit with smart energy monitoring systems, identify the major segments in this domain and name a number of significant players who currently shape this market.

Different smart energy management solutions, from connected plugs to smart energy storage for the residential solar systems, provide a wide range of benefits to households and electricity service providers.

Economic return is one of the major reasons households consider and adopt smart energy management products. An average U.S. household spends around 20% of after-tax income on an electricity bill, according to Statista.

Smart plugs, circuit boards, learning thermostats and autonomous lighting are designed to reduce energy waste or totally get rid of it. For example, smart circuits know when to stop powering unused devices or chargers. Thermostats dynamically adjust the temperature on demand in different areas instead of cooling or heating the unused spaces. So as autonomous lighting based on LED and sensors works to maximize the potential of natural light and minimize the use of electricity.

Another important benefit of using energy monitoring for home is the increased control residents get after adopting the technology.

Once a household installs a smart circuit breaker panel, for example, the residents get access to real-time power consumption insights. Using web or mobile dashboards, they can see the whole house in terms of its energy consumption and environmental impact and use controls to remotely manage it. In other words, a resident becomes an active participant in energy control.

From the security point of view, smart energy monitoring systems can identify an issue such as the risk of an outbreak or a malfunctioning appliance in advance. In this case, they can automatically take necessary precautions, for example, cut off the power supply or warn residents in time.

Reduced power consumption leads to reduced emissions and, consequently, reduced carbon footprint. This is a straightforward benefit. However, some smart energy management systems can provide even more than that.

The rise of residential renewable energy pathed the way to creative projects, including solar power converters and storage and emission reduction systems.

Converters help use the full potential of solar panels as they dynamically convert dc (direct current) generated by renewables to ac (alternating current) required for grid connection. Storage prevents from losing generated solar energy and helps distribute it reasonably. And emission reduction systems allow smart devices to dynamically choose the cleanest power supply depending on the grids’ emission data and expected load.

Based on IoT and big data technology, these projects help households speed up the return on investment to renewables. They make clean energy available and affordable to everyone and, therefore, allow households and the whole communities to contribute to the global environmental initiative.

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, households consume 37 percent of end-use electricity. Building a strategy for clever and responsible management of these resources is not only important but essential in the context of the growing environmental problems and changes in the energy economy.

IoT-based home energy management systems produce a huge amount of diverse data, including real-time streaming data on ongoing energy consumption and the performance of smart devices. At scale, analysis and visualization of this data can equip utility companies, energy specialists and researchers with useful insights. These insights can help:

• dynamically calculate energy costs, predict future spending and introduce demand-based pricing,
• elaborate incentives for more prudent energy consumption,
• develop a strategy for energy conservation, and
• see the big picture of power supply and demand and adjust regulations and practices accordingly.

This is hardly a complete list. Each group, be it a utility company, which offers a demand response program, or a research team at a national energy conservation agency, can work with the available power consumption data to optimize their strategies and services.

Significant changes in the energy market directly influence the variety of products available to consumers. Today, tools in energy management, IoT-based smart home automation devices and software are abundant. Here are the main categories in this domain and some of the most popular products in each category.

Probably, the simplest and most straightforward way to monitor and control energy usage is by changing traditional sockets and plugs to the smart ones. Once it’s done, every household resident who has an app and relevant authorization can use a wide array of features.

• Connect power supply points into a network and create a home energy monitor system;
• Monitor electricity consumption in real time and identify trends using historical data;
• Set up custom regimes, for example, for reduced energy use or creating the effect of presence when leaving the house for holiday;
• Remotely control sockets and plugs and schedule switch off to effortlessly get rid of every energy waste point.

Example

The family of smart electric products by Kasa (TP-Link) include the essentials—plugs, light switches and sockets which enable energy consumption monitoring right in the app. Connected by Wi-Fi, Kasa’s devices can cover all electricity supply points, including lighting and thermal loads.

On the other side, this solution is limited to Wi-Fi and may not reach far outdoors points. However, it doesn’t lessen the recognition of Kasa products, as Cnet has called TP-Link’s plugs the best of 2019.

Home energy monitors are installed to an existing electric panel. Once the monitor identifies the electric devices plugged in the house, it starts monitoring their performance and power consumption based on each device’s unique signature.

All the gathered information from the panel’s sensors is then analyzed and sent in the form of easy-to-read insights to the user’s mobile or web application. Thus, the residents can monitor their electricity use in real time, follow the related costs and cut down on unnecessary energy usage.

Example

Sense monitor is a good example. It’s connected to a household panel and collects data from electric devices throughout the house.

Depending on the type of monitor, it can track electricity consumption coming from a traditional grid and help the adopters of solar analyze the performance of their panels. It calculates power generation and usage and, therefore, monitors savings and predicts the return on investment.

Energy storage is a relatively new but fast-developing area in this market that have already taken a place among smart home technology trends. Apart from a smart panel that provides visibility and insights on household electricity usage, storage systems allow storing extra power for the case of an outage.

Unlike traditional storage which basically works like batteries and power hardwired circuits, intelligent storage systems provide homeowners with manager capabilities. Residents can monitor loads and dynamically choose the preferred circuits to power.

Solar-enabled homes receive additional benefits from smart storage as it backs up a traditional PV system, helps better explore generated solar power and get a faster return on investment.

Example

Lumin is an example of a system for smart energy management using IoT. The company provides a complex of tools, hardware and software, to turn traditional household electrics into smart without rewiring. The system enables electricity consumption monitoring, cost calculation and prediction, remote control and management as well as an intelligent backup system.

Lumin’s storage system was endorsed by Tesla’s PW2 installers. It enables controlled and dynamic power distribution in the case of an outage and helps residential solar power adopters to maximize the performance of their PV systems.

Are you working on a system for the smart home market? Interested in IoT-based energy monitoring and management solutions? At Digiteum, we have experts who have worked on IoT energy telemetry software and could answer your questions in this area, technology and business-wise. Check our custom IoT development services and contact our team to talk about your own technology product.