Can social media inspire people to improve their home’s energy efficiency? Energy information company Opower is about to find out. The company, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Facebook, has launched a social media app that allows participants to compare their energy usage and compete against one another. And this...
When we think of home networks, we often think in terms of Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet connectivity, or maybe mesh technologies like Z-Wave or ZigBee. The same holds true for home energy management networks that send energy usage data around and allow you to turn on and off components to save energy. But there...
The key to saving energy in your home? It’s your smartphone. According to research firm ON World, two-thirds of smartphone users are interested in home energy management services, and 57 percent prefer smartphones as their energy interface device. This is no big secret, as many home energy monitoring and management services come with free...
Powerhouse Dynamics has released a new wireless version of its eMonitor energy monitoring system. The new eMonitor4 delivers Wi-Fi signals from the system’s gateway to a home’s router, as well as 2.4GHz wireless communications from a base unit installed inside the electrical panel to the gateway, avoiding the need to run wires outside the...
Who says you need a “home energy management” system to have energy management? To every new buyer of its eco-friendly modular homes, Karoleena Homes in Calgary, Alberta, now recommends the Elan g! Entertainment and Control System, which is not necessarily known for its green cred. In conjunction with Avalanche Electric, Karoleena Homes offers a...
The strategy of moving home energy intelligence into the cloud is disrupting the Smart Home market and expanding opportunities for the Home Area Network, according to global technology research firm ON World. IP-based home automation services, a large web-centric developer community and accelerating Smart Grid initiatives are driving adoption for home energy management solutions....
Interest in home energy efficiency is picking up—and the place it’s picking up is at the thermostat. Nowhere is this more evident than in the actions of some big service providers selling basic home connectivity and automation services, along with some limited energy management. At least two of the big players in this area,...
I am often asked: Are there federal rebates or tax incentives for installing home energy management systems or energy-saving equipment like lighting control systems? Several Congressional bills are in the works that address energy efficiency in the United States, but don’t get your hopes up. About the only pending federal legislation that directly addresses...
Research firm Parks Associates forecasts that over 60 percent of U.S. households will have energy management technologies, deployed by utilities, service providers, or retailers, by 2022. Retailers, service providers, and utilities are all entering the U.S. market for energy management, which will help drive annual subscription revenues from these systems to over $180 million...
Is this the year the so-called smart grid takes off, and millions more two-way communicating smart meters are installed to bring energy-saving programs and better efficiency to homes and businesses across the United States? Will we soon be able to wash our clothes or dishes or charge electric vehicles at times that are less...
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