Home Energy Manager

At the recent International Builders’ Show Schneider Electric showcased its Wiser Energy Monitor, Square D Energy Center and new connected wiring device range for home builders seeking innovative ways to drive efficiency and sustainability. These new smart solutions allow homebuilders to differentiate their homes through increased electrical system connectivity, transparency and enhanced energy control.

Frances state owned energy supplier has setup a new team to take advantage of the growing need for connected home services among its customers.  EDF's CEO Jean-Berard Lévy made the announcement at the Parisian Cultural Center, Gaite Lyrique, dedicated to digital art.  EDF has joined a list of other energy supplier in Europe and around the globe that has gone down this route by offering their customer added services that will help then to better manage their energy use.

I must say hearing that Google has bought Nest comes as no surprise to me, what surprise me is the fact that they are buying so many home related solutions and then we hear nothing after.  We waited with  bated breath when they buy these businesses and introduce new concepts and are left high and dry, because we see no change to the norm.

The lowly thermostat has come a long way from being just a little device tucked away somewhere in your home.  They have now become intelligent part of your home energy management solution to the point where you can automate your home atmospheric control. In recent months we have seen a number of thermostats (e.g. Tado and Nest) offering to make it easier to manage the temperature in your home and the energy you use.  The latest of these is the Honeywell Wi-Fi Thermostat.

Danish energy management company NorthQ today launches the world’s first battery-powered Wi-Fi Power & Gas Reader.  According to NorthQ, Wi-Fi Power & Gas Reader is easily installed on existing home’s mechanical and electronic power or gas meters. It allows you to get some of the benefits of having a smart meter, such as allowing data collected to be transferred and viewed on the NorthQ Portal every 15 minutes.

iiNet launches Smartlife, a software solution powered by Budii its connected home solution.  The solution is on display at this year’s CeBIT 2013, Australia. As complete solution Smartlife will complement Budii to help manage home energy consumption, home monitoring and home appliance control.

Tendril releases new version of Tendril Energize software.  This upgraded version of the software will enable support for customers who are not connected to a smart meter or an advance meter infrastructure.  Therefore, customers with no meter reading data and only monthly bills can use the application to manage their energy use and save money on their utility bill.

Technology startup Tado has launched its internet-connected home thermostat. The now device is operated by an app on your smartphone and reacts to the weather forecasts to change your indoor climate.  You home heating system is connected to Tado via the app on our phone and unlike traditional thermostats; Tado does not have knobs, buttons, or even a display.
 

With an already establish line of smart grid aware home appliances GE has launch a new set of energy management solutions.  Based on the Brillion range of products, the new “Whole-Home Sensor”, “Smart Plug Control” and “Brillion Programmable Thermostat” will assist homes in monitoring and managing their energy use.  The different devices will work with GE’s Nucleus energy manager to give near real time energy information.

For a while Google and Microsoft were encouraging utilities and consumer to get connected through their solutions to learn more about their energy use.  Google launched the Google PowerMeter through it iGoogle platform, Microsoft launched Microsoft Hohm and Cisco launched the Home Energy Controller gadgets and software. They all promised information at our finger tips so we can make more informed decisions on how we use our home energy.