Cars are much smarter than homes.   Cars have sensors, computers, and visual displays that provide information about performance and status like speed and alarms such as that dreaded “check engine”
light.   The key point is that I have alarms information that allows me to react and make small repairs before they become big repairs.  The car dashboard is an excellent model to apply in designing the smart home dashboard.  I’d like to be reminded that it’s time to replace a furnace or AC filter, have leak detection sensors in the floor around the water heater for early warning about tank failures, and oh yes, keep an eye on electricity, gas, and water consumption.

Smart Grid technologies can make this possible, but the smart home dashboard will evolve over the next decade.  First, let’s consider placement of a home dashboard.  The car dashboard is positioned for maximum visibility and information availability to the driver.  Where is the best place for a home dashboard?  I suggest the kitchen.  First, it’s a common room that all home occupants use.  It would be readily available for everyone to see.  Second, there are already visual displays for appliances there, so it won’t look out of place.  What will be the most desirable form factor for this home dashboard?  A tablet or iPad-type computer that wirelessly connects to the cloud-based home operations management and to my IP-enabled devices (appliances and electronics) as well as to my “sensored-up” monitoring points.  It may be affixed to a wall or tilted on a kitchen counter, but its portability means I can also remotely monitor and maintain operations in my home (or switch to a smart phone application).

A review of existing Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) applications and home control solutions reveals an array of display options around electricity consumption.  A homeowner can choose between relatively simple In Home Displays (IHDs) that color code electricity usage in green/yellow/red lights to more elaborate web-based portals that provide running graphs of usage, and tablets that provide information in nicely designed user interfaces. Some solutions provide a snapshot of individual consumption, others will tell you how your electricity consumption compares to your peers.  Most HEMS vendors address a combination of security monitoring, home entertainment, lighting controls, even home wellness.  These are all useful applications, but I haven’t seen anything that answers the preventive maintenance and alarms requirements mentioned here, and one of the most important aspects of a car dashboard.  And face it, a home maintenance application will have appeal to insurance companies – just as homeowners get premium discounts for security and in-home sprinkler systems, there could be future discounts for sensor-based detection of water leaks in the roof or lint build-ups in dryer filters.  Predictive and preventive home maintenance lacks the sexiness of automating home entertainment, but it makes sense and it’s a lot easier to cost justify for the majority of consumers.

This will be one of the topics of conversation at the Smart Grid Technology Conference, where I’ll be participating in a panel session about HEMS solutions.  Join me there, or if you’re back east, head to Atlanta for the Grid ComForum show.

I study HEMS solutions and always ask the HEMS manufacturers about the support model.  There is remarkable unanimity in their assertions that the utilities will take the first support calls – for HEMS web portal software and for IHDs.  The HEMS providers are confident that their solutions are so easy to use that support is quantified as a nominal increase in support calls.  Some of them go to great pains to develop friendly user interfaces.  But I have marketed, sold, and deployed many software applications in my career, and what is “a nominal increase in support calls” to a vendor may be dramatic increases in call volumes to utility customer contact centers.    

Regardless of the success of the introduction of a HEMS solution and associated IHDs, if the support model is inadequate, the end result will be frustrated ratepayers, lagging participation in crucial Demand Response and other energy conservation and energy efficiency programs, and more utility time and expense to fix these problems. 

Utilities that offer HEMS solutions to their customers need to include software and hardware support of the HEMS solution and IHDs into their Consumer Enlightenment Model.  Bring in consulting professionals with experience in contact centers, software support, and emerging technology introductions who are knowledgeable about Demand Response and Energy Efficiency programs.  Work with them to develop a fully integrated Consumer Enlightenment Model that aligns with utility objectives to reduce overall energy use during peak and non-peak times and manages not only the introduction, but the ongoing support of visible, disruptive, and extremely important HEMS solutions and their IHDs. 

Feds Step Up Enforcement of Appliance Reporting Standards

Energy efficiency was proclaimed to be “sexy” by President Obama just last week, and the days of lax enforcement of energy efficiency standards are thankfully at an end.  The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that January 8, 2010, is the deadline for manufacturers of certain residential products to submit accurate certification reports and compliance statements regarding energy efficiency.  A 30 day grace period lets the slackers correct their non-compliance without penalty. 

After January 8th, the DOE will begin enforcing these reporting requirements, including leveling civil penalties or fines for non-compliance. This covers reporting and certification requirements – not the actual energy efficiency standards, which are already subject to scrutiny by DOE.  The requirements include a certification report for each basic appliance model covered by the energy standards, along with a signed compliance statement.  You can access the DOE press release and fact sheet, and for even more info, here is the Web site for DOE’s Appliances and Commercial Equipment Standards Program.   To all the appliance manufacturers that have been playing by the rules all along, kudos to you.  To those manufacturers who treated the rules cavalierly, the playing field just got leveled.

HEMS solutions usually include some sort of In-Home Display (IHD) that communicates information that ranges from current electricity rates, home electricity consumption rates, and what I term “home operations metrics” like temperature and security status. These IHDs can be wall-mounted displays or standalone, battery-operated wireless displays, or even visual devices that simply glow a different color to indicate home consumption or real-time tariff rates.

In the current electrical grid, the utility’s relationship with a residential ratepayer ends at the meter, affixed to the outside of a home. Bills arrive after the fact – at a minimum a month after your electricity use. HEMS and IHDs completely disrupt this consumer engagement model, and offer the opportunity for utilities to extend their relationship inside the home with much richer content and real-time data. True, utilities have websites that consumers can visit, but this information is relatively static.

Smart Grid-enabled HEMS solutions can deliver information that residential users would find compelling – such as real-time billing information mentioned above, tailored suggestions about how to trim their electricity bills, offers for participation in demand response programs to reduce rates, and more. This information empowers consumers to make educated decisions in real-time about how to manage their electricity consumption. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that, operationally and culturally, utilities are not accustomed to selling to residential end users. They don’t inhabit a competitive world where they must fight for mindshare and market share. If you look at the take rate for utilities’ consumers to sign up for electronic billing as an indicator of their selling capabilities, it is abysmal. Only 17% of all residential utility customers have enrolled in electronic billing. In comparison, 40% of telecom customers have electronic billing. Clearly, there’s a problem in utility outreach and education to sell consumers on a program that has solid environmental and convenience benefits.

If utilities have low success rates in getting people to enroll in simple programs like electronic billing, then there are real challenges in communicating complex and layered messages about the benefits of HEMS solutions and associated IHDs. As I noted in last week’s blog about PG&E’s rollout of smart meters, residential end users will have the opportunity to have a very visible and very disruptive technology introduced in their homes. If it’s done well, not only do the utility rate payers benefit, but overall we all benefit from fast adoption of Smart Grid solutions. However, technology rollouts that result in confusion, opposition, and lawsuits have negative impacts on everyone.

Utilities are depending on HEMS solutions to enable widespread participation in demand response and energy reduction programs. The stakes couldn’t be higher to plan and conduct effective rollouts of these HEMS applications, starting with clear messaging about the benefits of HEMS solutions to average residential customers. Not every consumer embraces change – especially when we have all been conditioned to regard electricity as a cheap and plentiful commodity that doesn’t require much attention on our part. However, we can be educated to welcome changes such as smart meters and HEMS solutions, as some utilities have successfully demonstrated.
HEMS rollouts must clearly articulate the benefits to end users – what’s in it for them, what’s required of them, how to get more information, how to get support when things break, and examples of what the solution looks like and options for IHDs. A successful HEMS rollout requires a sophisticated sales and marketing strategy. Next week’s blog will explore some of the key tactics in a successful strategy.

Flat Panel TVs Get Energy Efficiency Standards in California
Break out the Champagne for the bold decision by the California Energy Commission (CEC) in approving new energy efficiency standards for TV sets sold in California!
Recent blogs (see archives: October 12th and 26th, November 2nd and 9th) covered the brouhaha that the CEA and some TV manufacturers created with the usual scare tactics about job loss, economic disaster to businesses, and all the other assorted ills that have been projected with every previous CEC energy efficiency standard. Fortunately, the CEC knows from actual experience that these standards improve economic conditions – for California consumers who will enjoy reduced operating costs (i.e. electricity bills). In energy efficiency matters, other states often adopt the CEC rules, so here’s hoping that this positive trend to reduce energy consumption continues across the nation.