Home Automation Gets Energy

A few years ago I suggested that the home automation market wouldn’t really take off till it found the killer, must-have application around the house. And I always figured saving energy would be it.

That’s looking more and more like fact these days as a whole swathe of companies bring out home networking products that have a real energy efficiency backbone-and that finally are simple and intuitive to use.

And it’s not just the big home automation names like Crestron, Control4 or Clipsal either, though they’ve been in the space for some time. In the States in 2011 there were a number of broadband companies adding home automation bundles with an emphasis on energy management as well. The big telco, Verizon, was one of them and made a splash with a Motorola system that remotely monitors energy and cameras in the home.

That trend got major play at this year’s big home technology fest, the Consumer Electronics Show-or CES as its known-in Las Vegas. In fact a lot of these types of products got their own close up at CES in a model home called the "NextGen Energy Miser Home" (http://www.NextGenHome.com/) that brings a lot of ideas together and shows how simple they can be to install.

Individual gadgets with a home energy saving focus are also coming with connectivity built in from day one for absolute simplicity when it comes to installaton, control and management. Echo Labs, Allure’s EverSense, Lowe’s Iris System. LG’s HeMS and FutureDash are some of the latest to hit the CES stands, but I can think of nothing better than the Nest Thermostat (http://www.nest.com/). Not only smarter than the average thermostat with its ability to learn and remember, but so great looking that its almost impossible to keep your hands off it, either at home or remotely.

Simple installs, effortless interaction and great looking gadgets will go a long way to encourage homeowners to invest in energy related technology, but is it enough? A ton of research on smart meters and the smart grid suggest it’s a tough sell getting people engaged with a lot of these issues-and then to take real action at home.

Skyrocketing electricity, gas or water costs-one US study said a $112 jump on a monthly electricity bill was the tipping point for most consumers there-could just be the next trigger. Electricity is projected to double in price for most people by 2020 here in Australia, while improved domestic water use is now a national priority.

If this century has been about anything then it’s technology and sustainability, and it’s these two trends that are now knocking at the front door of the smart home. It’s time we connected the two.

John Fennell
cdc@copperdev.com